472 



ORCHIDACEAE 



2. LIMNORCHIS Rydb. Mem. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 1 : 104. 1900. 

 Leafy plants with thick lieshy roots and small greenish or whitish flowers in a long 

 spike. Upper sepal ovate to suborbicular, erect, 3-7-nerved ; lateral sepals from linear to 

 ovate-lanceolate, free from the lip, usually 3-nerved, spreading or somewhat reflexed. Lateral 

 petals erect, lanceolate, 3-nerved. Lip entire, flat or slightly concave, reflexed. free, linear to 

 rhombic-lanceolate. Column short and thick; anther-sacs parallel, opening in front. Glands 

 naked. Pollinia granular. [Greek, meaning marsh-orchis.] 



A North American genus of about 15 species. Type species, Liinuorchis hyperborea (L.) Rydb. 



Flowers greenish or purplish; lip linear or lanceolate, not rhombic-dilated at base. 

 Spur decidedly clavate, shorter than the lip. 



Petals purplish; spur one-half to two-thirds as long as the lip. 



Petals green; spur about equalling the lip. 

 Spur filiform, exceeding the lip. 

 Flowers white; lip rhombic-dilated at base. 



Spur usually shorter than or about equalling the lip; often somewhat clavate. 

 Spur slender, one-third to two-thirds longer than the lip. 



Dilated portion of lip oval; spur two-thirds longer than lip. 



Dilated portion of lip rhombic; spur scarcely one-half longer than liji. 



1. L. stricta. 



2. L. viridiflora. 



3. L. sparsxflora. 



4. L. dilatata. 



5. L. thiirberi. 



6. L. leiicostachvs. 



1. Limnorchis stricta (Lindl.) Rydb. 

 Slender Bog Orchid. Fig. 1153. 



Platantheia stricta Lindl. Gen. ^; Sp. Orchid. 288. 1836. 



Habenaria gracilis S. Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 12: 277. 

 1877. 



Limnorchis stricta (Lindl.) Rvbd. Mem. N. V. Bot Card 

 1: 105. 1900. 



Stems 3-10 dm. high, strict. Lower leaves ob~ 

 lanceolate, obtuse. 5-12 cm. long, 15-25 mm. 

 wide; the upper lanceolate acute; spike lax, 

 1-3 dm. long; bracts linear-lanceolate, the lower 

 much longer than the flowers, often 25-40 mm. 

 long; flowers 2-14 mm. long; sepals green, the 

 upper ovate, erect, 4-5 mm. long, the lateral 

 lanceolate, obtuse, 5-6 mm. long; petals purplish, 

 lanceolate, acute; lip linear, 5-7 mm. long, obtuse, 

 purple; spur one-half to two-thirds as long as 

 the lip, purplish, very saccate. 



In swampy places. Transition and Canadian Zones; 

 Alaska to the Cascade Mountains of northern Oregon, east 

 to Wyoming and Montana. Type locality: western North 

 America. 



1^:1 



2. Limnorchis viridiflora (Cham.) Rydb. 



Green-flowered Bog Orchid. 



Fig. 



1154. 



Habenaria borealis viridiflora Cham. Linnaea 3: 28. 1828. 



Limnorchis viridiflora Rybd. Bidl. Torrey Club 28: 616. 

 1901. 



Stem 2-5 dm. high, from elongate fusiform 

 tubers, 5-7 mm. thick. Lower leaves oblanceo- 

 late, obtuse, 5-15 cm. long, 2-3 cm. wide, the upper 

 lanceolate, acute ; spike usually short and dense ; 

 bracts linear-lanceolate ; flowers light green, 10- 

 12 mm. long ; upper sepal broadly ovate, erect, 

 3-4 mm. long ; the lateral lanceolate, acute, 

 slightly shorter than the upper ; lip lanceolate, 

 obtuse, scarcely 5 mm. long; spur clavate, curved, 

 about equalling the lip. 



In bogs, Canadian Zone; Alaska, through the Rocky 

 Mountains to North Dakota and Colorado, and in the 

 Pacific States to the Olympic Mountains and Mount 

 Rainier, Washington. Type locality: "Unalaschca." 



