THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 85 



Orchid Notes. — Mr. J. H. Massey, Bolton, Conn., writes 

 as follows : "Does the whorled pagonia {Pogonia verticillata) 

 bloom at periods widely separated? In 1902 a friend found it 

 growing in a small wood-lot, literally by hundreds. We 

 have watched it every year since for a month or six weeks 

 around the time of blooming (middle of May, onward) and 

 while we can find plenty of plants we have thus far found only 

 four blossoms; one in 1903 and three in 1907. Why is it that 

 most of our common orchids, no matter how long left in water, 

 do not discolor or taint the water? Have tried the following: 

 pink lady's slipper, ragged fringed orchid, purple fringed 

 orchid, calopogon, adder's mouth or rose pogonia, and 

 arethusa. Until the flowers fade the water remains clear and 

 with no more odor than when they were first put in. I tried 

 coral root but that tainted the water. In speaking of the small 

 white lady's-slipper W. H. Gibson says in "Our Native Or- 

 chids" : "It is the only other white Cypripedium besides C. 

 reginae," but one small boy used to bring to school pure white 

 lady's slippers which to all appearances except color were iden- 

 tified with the common pink one. [With reference to the whorl- 

 ed pogonia it may be said that while some orchids, like the pur- 

 ple fringed orchid and lady's tresses, seldom fail to flower at 

 the appointed time, there are others, including pogonia, that 

 appear to flower only when the mood strikes them. The editor 

 has known of a colony in the Susquehanna Valley, that so far 

 as he could discover, flowered only once in ten years. On the 

 other hand, near Southampton, Long Island, he found a colony 

 in which nearly every plant was producing flowers. The green 



fringed orchid not only does not flower every year, but has 

 been reputed to rest in the ground during some summers with- 

 out even putting forth leaves. It may not be generally known 

 that pogonia is a half-parasite, stealing from other plants by 

 means of its roots. Perhaps the kind of host adopted may in- 

 fluence the flowering. The cause of the fouling of water in 



