ORCHIDACEAE. 



VOL. I. 



6. Ibidium praecox (Walt.) House. Grass- 

 leaved Ladies'-tresses. Fig. 1394. 



Limodorum praecox Walt. Fl. Car. 221. 1788. 

 Spiranthes graminea var. Walteri A. Gray, Man. Ed. 



5, 505. 1867. 

 Spiranthes praecox S. Wats, in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 6, 



503. 1890. 



G. praecox Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 663. 1891. 

 Ibidium praecox House, Muhlenbergia i : 129. 1906. 



Stem slender, io'-3o' high, sparingly glandular- 

 pubescent above, leafy. Leaves linear, 4/-I2' long, 

 with narrow grass-like blades and long sheath- 

 ing petioles, mostly persistent through the flow- 

 ering season, the upper smaller; spike usually 

 much twisted, 2' -8' long, 4" -6" thick; bracts 

 about as long as the ovaries ; flowers white, 3 "-4" 

 long, spreading; lip $'-4" long, oblong, con- 

 tracted above, the dilated apex obtuse, crenulate; 

 callosities stout, usually straight. 



In grassy places, southern New York to Florida 

 and Texas. July-Aug. 



7. Ibidium Beckii (Lindl.) House, Muhlen- 

 bergia i : 128. 1906. Little Ladies'- 

 tresses. Fig. 1395. 



Spiranthes Beckii Lindl. Gen. & Sp. Orch. 472. 1840 

 S. simplex A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 506. 1867. Not Griseb 

 Gyrostachys simplex Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 664. 1891. 

 Ibidium f Beckii House, Muhlenbergia i: 128. 1905. 



Stems very slender, s'-g' high, from a solitary- 

 spindle-shaped tuberous root, with small decidu- 

 ous bracts above. Leaves basal, ovate or oblong, 

 short, abruptly narrowed into a petiole, mostly 

 disappearing at or before the flowering time; 

 spike slender, about i' long and 3" thick, glabrous, 

 little twisted; flowers white, i"-ii" long; lip thin, 

 striped, ovate to orbicular-ovate, erose-crisped 

 from below the middle to the apex, short-clawed ; 

 callosities nipple-shaped, slender, usually curved 

 or hooked at the tip. 



. In dry sandy soil, Massachusetts to New Jersey, 

 Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas and Texas. Aug-Sept. 



8. Ibidium gracile ( Bigel.) House. Slen- 

 der Ladies'-tresses. Fig. 1396. 



Neottia gracilis Bigel. Fl. Bost. Ed. 2, 322. 1824. 

 Spiranthes gracilis Beck, Bot. 343. 1833. 

 Gyrostacliys gracilis Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PL 664. 1891. 

 /. gracile House, Bull. Torr. Club 32: 381. 1905. 



Stem slender, 8'-2 high, from a cluster of 

 spindle-shaped tuberous roots, glabrous, or rarely 

 pubescent above, bearing small deciduous bracts. 

 Leaves basal, obovate, or ovate-lanceolate, peti- 

 oled, the blades 4 '-2' long, 4"-io" wide, mostly 

 perishing before the flowering season; spike i'-3' 

 long, 4"-6" thick, loose, usually much twisted; 

 flowers white, fragrant, ?."-2\" long; sepals a 

 little longer than the lip, the lateral ones free ; lip 

 about 2" long, oblong, dilated and crenulate or 

 wavy-crisped at the apex, usually thick and green 

 in the middle, white and hyaline on the margins, 

 slightly clawed at the base ; callosities small, 

 nipple-shaped, stout, straight. 



In dry fields and open woods, Nova Scotia to Mani- 

 toba, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Ascends to 2500 

 ft. in North Carolina. Twisted-stalk. Corkscrew- plant. Aug.-Oct. 



