walker YELLOW FRINGED ORCHIS 283 



Nodding pogonia .... Pogonia trianthophora 



Whorled pogonia verticillata 



Showy orchis Orchis spectabilis 



Rattlesnake plantain . . . Epipactus pubescens 



Ladies tresses Spiranthes cernua 



Slender Ladies Tresses . . . gracilis 



Yellow Fringed Orchis 



Robert Sparks Walker 



In meadows damp and barrens wet, 

 From one to two feet high; 



I am the sweetest orchis met, 

 With orange-yellow eye. 



My slender, lance-shaped leaves grow less, 



As they approach the spike, 

 That holds my golden showy dress, 



That grows beside the dike. 



My petals, narrow fringed, and lip, 



All deeply fringed are found; 

 With ovate sepals o'er which trip, 



Wee fairies homeward bound! 



All slender, long's my flower spur, 



And anther cells at base, 

 Are widely separated, sir; 



Adds beauty to my face. 



July and August when you see, 



My blooms with open eye; 

 You'll be quick to look at me, 



For none can pass me by! 



