7U ON THE FLORA OF VERMONT. 



over the state, and we find some very rare forms. Most 

 of these plants grow in damp woods or in swamps. lu 

 the latter place, quite early in the summer, we find the 

 large, purj)le Orchis or Lady's Slipper( Cyj^rippduim acaule) 

 lifting its large, sac-like flowers under some bush or small 

 evergreen. Later, in the hillside woods, we find the yel- 

 low Lady's Slipper ( C. puhescens) , and in the swamps the 

 largest and most elegant of all the group, the purple and 

 white Lady's Slipper (C ^qjecfabile) . Then in the woods 

 we have the variegated Orchis and some of the green Or- 

 chids, and now and then the small Twayblade and some 

 other simple forms. On the Ijorders of moist places and 

 fields we have diflerent species of purple and white Plat- 

 antheras, while in the swamps the exquisite and rare 

 Arethusa grows attended by Calopogons and Pogonias. 

 These and others of varied and delicate hues and some 

 with fine perfume number about forty different species. 



Over seventy species of the Sedges ( Ci/peracece) may be 

 collected along streams and ditches and in fields and 

 meadoAvs and even on mountain tops, and nearly eighty 

 species of the Grasses ( Graminece) are scattered over the 

 state. 



Of the Lily family (Liliaceoi) there arc quite a number 

 of species, most of them growing in moist ground. 



In the flowerless or Cryptogamous plants Vermont is 

 peculiarly rich. Along the mountain rivulet, bathed 

 constantly in the spray of little cascades, in damp, cool 

 woods, fringing the edges and festooning the faces of 

 limestone cliffs, we have the feathery Ferns {Filices) and 

 soft, green Mosses (Miisci). About four-fifths of all the 

 ferns belonging to the flora of the Xorthern United States 

 may be found about Burlington. Although most of these 

 delicate plants grow in moist, dark places, some prefer the 

 open sunshine and the dry rock. The mosses are more 

 independent of climate and station than the higher and 

 more complicated vegetation. Most of the more delicate 

 species grow where they can have plenty of moisture, but 

 a great many love the dry and open fields, some flourish 



