184 CLASS CYNANDKIA. 



particularly the M. UUifolia in the middle states, flow 

 ering in June. The character is to have the 5 petals 

 narrower than the lip, and spreading or deflected. 

 The lip flattened, undivided, sessile, often exterior. 

 The pollinia (or masses of pollen) 4, parallel with 

 each other, applied to the stigma by their extremities. 

 In J\l. liliifolia, the plants sometimes grow in clus- 

 ters, having bulbous roots, from each of which arise 2 

 elliptic leaves, and a triangular scape of many flowers, 

 with the interior petals, filiform and reflected ; the lip 

 brownish, concave, obovate, and acute at the point. A 

 second, and somewhat similar species, with a narrow- 

 er greenish lip sometimes occurs. This is the M. 

 Lceselii, indigenous also to Europe, and found farther 

 north than the preceding. A very dissimilar species 

 is the M. ophioglossoides, which bears only a single, 

 embracing ovate leaf, and a crowded raceme of mi- 

 nute greenish flowers. In this, of which I formed the 

 sub-genus Mycrostylis, the lip is sessile, concave, and 

 erect, with the summit truncated and bidentate (or 2 

 toothed) ; the column is minute. There are also 2 

 imperfect anthers, and three pollinia. It is in fact a 

 very distinct genus. 



The genus Corallorhiza, or Coral-root, from its 

 branching, thick, fleshy coralloidal root destitute of 

 fibres, is remarkable as being without leaves, and pro- 

 ducing racemes of dusky brownish flowers, with the 

 following character — The petals equal and connivent ; 

 the lip mostly produced or gibbous at the base ; the 

 column free ; the pollinia 4, oblique, (or not parallel). 



From the preceding genus, so different in habit, I 

 ventured to separate the Cymbidium hiemale of Will- 

 denow, under the name of ^plectrum, having no 

 spur or gibbosity at the base of the lip. This curious 

 plant is sometimes known by the name of Adam and 

 Eve, from the small chain of bulbs which constitute its 



