3. Habenaria repens Nutt. Water-spider orchid. Fig. 355. 



Plant slender or stout, leafy, glabrous, 1-9 dm. tall; roots slender, fibrous, 

 often with tuberous swellings; leaves linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate, acute to 

 acuminate, thin and chartaceous, 3-ribbed, strongly veined, sheathing the stem 

 below, 5-24 cm. long, 3.5-20 mm. wide; raceme densely flowered, rarely con- 

 sisting of a few scattered flowers, 6-28 cm. long, 2.5-3 cm. in diameter; floral 

 bracts oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, acute to acuminate, exceeding the flowers 

 at maturity (rarely shorter than the flowers), 1.5-9 cm. long, about 1 cm. wide 

 near the base; flowers small, greenish, with slender pedicellate ovaries which 

 are 9-14 mm. long; dorsal sepal oval to suborbicular-ovate, mucronate, concave, 

 3-7 mm. long, about 3 mm. wide; lateral sepals ovate to ovate-oblong, mucronate, 

 4-7 mm. long, about 3 mm. wide; petals 2-parted; posterior lobe erect, falcate, 

 oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, acute, 3-7 mm. long; anterior lobe filiform, 

 falcate, erect, 4-7.5 mm. long; lip deeply 3-parted to within 2 mm. of the base, 

 strongly deflexed; lateral lobes filiform, 5-1 1 mm. long; midlobe linear to linear- 

 oblong, 4-7 mm. long; spur slender, about as long as the pedicellate ovary, 9-14 

 mm. long. H. Nuttallii Small. 



In streams, ditches, swamps, on the margins of ponds and lakes, often floating 

 on mats of other vegetation on surface of water in cen., s. and e. Tex., May-Nov.; 

 from Fla., n. to N.C. and Va. (?), w. to Tex.; also throughout the W.I. and 

 Latin Am. 



4. Habenaria Blephariglottis (Willd.) Hook. White fringed orchid. 



Plant stout, leafy below, bracted above, glabrous, 0.8-11 dm. tall; roots 

 fleshy, tuberous-thickened; stem strongly ribbed; leaves ovate-lanceolate to 

 elliptic-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, with the lower part 

 sheathing the stem, 5-35 cm. long, 1-5 cm. wide; raceme densely or laxly 

 flowered, 3-20 cm. long, 2.5-8 cm. in diameter; floral bracts narrowly lanceolate, 

 shorter than the pedicellate ovaries, 1.5-2.5 cm. long; flowers white, often tinged 

 with cream, with slender pedicellate ovaries which are about 2 cm. long; dorsal 

 sepal oblong-elliptic to orbicular, obtuse to rounded at the apex, concave, 5-10 

 mm. long, 4-8 mm. wide; lateral sepals broadly ovate-orbicular, oblique, 5-11 

 mm. long, 4-9 mm. wide; petals linear to narrowly oblong-spatulate or oblanceo- 

 late, truncate and retuse to denticulate at the apex, 3-8 mm. long, 1-3 mm. wide 

 at the widest point; lip with the undivided portion linguiform, ovate-oblong to 

 oblong-elliptic or oblong-quadrate, rarely suborbicular, 4-13 mm. long, 2-4 mm. 

 wide, copiously and coarsely fringed; fringes less than 8 mm. long, with the 

 segments often branched; spur slender, as long as or longer than the pedicellate 

 ovary, 1.5-5 cm. long. Blephariglottis Blephariglottis (Willd) Rydb. 



In marshes, meadows, edge of swamps and depressions in savannahs and 

 prairies in s.e. Tex., June-Sept.; widely distributed and locally abundant from 

 Nfld., s. to Fla., w. to O., Mich, and Tex. 



5. Habenaria ciliaris (L.) R. Br. Yellow fringed orchid. Fig. 356. 



Similar to H. Blephariglottis except for its bright- to deep-orange-color flowers 

 with more copiously and finely fringed lips. Plant to 1 m. tall; petals linear-oblong 

 to linear-cuneate, 6-7 mm. long 1-2 mm. wide; lip 8-12 mm. long; spur 2-3.3 

 cm. long. Blephariglottis ciliaris (L.) Rydb. 



In moist woodlands, along streams, seepage slopes in forests and open areas, 

 bogs, savannahs and prairies in e. and s.e. Tex., June-Oct.; from Ont., s. to Fla., 

 w. to 111., Mo., Ark. and Tex. 



697 



