Vll 



should make them general favourites. The Primrose, the Cowslip, 

 the Ilyencintli, und otl.rr of our wild flowers, find their way into 

 tin' < idcii, but we never yet saw an Orchis in a cottage 



pardon or taking part in a rustic nosegay; however, great heaps of 

 the commoner ones may occasionally be noticed laying prostrate 

 by a stile or scattered about the country childrens* play-ground, 

 having been gathered by the little unsophisticated creatures who 

 have always a deep love for " pretty flowers," which, in as far as 

 Iho Orchis is concerned, is early destined to be clouded by a 

 prejudice which, in after life, is so strong as not merely to lead 

 to indifference, but to a positive superstitious dread of these 

 beautiful and harmless creations. 



This feeling would appear to have been derived from the name, 

 which country people apply to some of the commoner species, 

 namely, that of " Bloody Man's Fingers;" no doubt applied on 

 account of the digitate roots which are white and fleshy, and bear 

 no distant resemblance to bloodless fingers ; and yet, curiously 

 enough, this form of root is not common to the commoner species 

 as the two everywhere met with, the Orchis morio and 0. mascula, 

 have two rounded tuberous appendages below the surface of the 

 soil, which contain so much starch as to make the plant by some 

 be considered as worthy of cultivation. 



Little however as these plants have been attended to as objects 

 of floral culture yet they will be found well worthy of notice in 

 this respect, to which end field specimens should be marked when 

 in flower for removal in the autumn, a remark necessary inasmuch 

 as the usual plan of taking up flowering roots when first observed, 

 usually results in disappointment in these, as it would be the case 

 with most plants when in full flower. Of course observation of 

 the locality, soil, and habit of growth, would conduce greatly to 

 success. 



The following is a list of all the species which I have met with 

 in our County. These are 18 belonging to 8 genera, being some- 

 what more than half the genera belonging to the British Flora, as 

 described by Hooker and Arnott, and nearly half the species, the 

 numbers being of total British species 38 appertaining to 14 

 genera. 



List of the Orchidacece of Gloucestershire. 



1. Epipactis latifolia, Broad-leaved Heleborine. In the woods in Oakley 



Park, Cirencester, Birdlip, and most of the Cotteswold 

 woods and thickets. 



2. grandiflora, large white H. Plentiful in Oakley Park, and 



in the north Cotteswold woods, but no where in the 

 Vale. 



3. ensifolia, narrow-leaved white H. A few years since I met 



with t\vo specimens of this plant beneath the Rookery 

 trees of Oakley Park, and not deeming but there 

 would be others, I at once appropriated these exam- 

 ples of an exceedingly rare plant to my Herbarium, 

 but alas, the most diligent search for years has not 

 again given me sight of a living specimen. It may 



