254 NOTES ON BRITISH ORCHIDS. [Aug. 



liave frequently been brought me from the adjoining Island of 

 Anglesey. It seems to prefer a raised mound or hillock on which to 

 grow, and soil of a peaty nature freely intermixed with loam 

 and lime. 



The period of flowering varies from May to July. 



Genus 5. — Aceras. — Eesembliug an Orchis very closely in flowers and general 

 habit, but destitute of a spur. The two viscid discs lie close together •ndthin the 

 rostellum. There is but one species, A. anthropophora. 



A. anthropophora (man Aceras). — A stout plant from 8 to 12, and sometimes as 

 much as 16 inches in height, with several ovate or oblong leaves near the base of 

 the stem. Flower spike rather long when compared with the plant's height, 

 narrow, cylindrical, and bearing numerous flowers of a dull green or pale yellow, 

 tinged more or less with brown. Sepals and petals forming a hood. Lip long 

 and narrow, f our-lobed, of a pale yellow like the rest of the flower, and occasionally 

 tipped with brown or dark red. It is destitute of a siiur. 



The popular name of man Aceras, or as it is usually called man 

 Orchis, is certainly well Ijestowed on this plant, as the fancied 

 resemblance to a hanfrinfr man in the flower of this sinirular orchid 

 is very apparent, the lateral lobes of the lip representing his arms, 

 and the middle one, which is much longer and two-cleft, his body and 

 legs. 



It is a rare plant, being principally confined to pastures and 

 copses in the chalky soils of Kent, Norfolk, and Suffolk, but in much 

 less quantity than a few years ago. l^uml^ers of this orchid are 

 imported annually by some of our nursery firms, so that it can be 

 readily obtained by any one wishing to attempt its cultivation. 

 Like most other inhabitants of a calcareous soil, this orchid is by no 

 means easily managed under cultivation — at least such is my 

 experience, for repeated attempts to grow it in anything like a 

 satisfactory manner have been productive of but little success. The 

 tubers, which very nearly resemble those of Orchis masaula, throw up 

 stout stems, and usually flower well for the first year or two, after 

 which the plant gradually becomes less and less, and finally dis- 

 appears, probably from our "Welsh climate being too damp and 

 sunless to ripen the tubers. At Edge Hall, in Cheshire, the Eev. 

 C. AVolley Dod tells me he has been fairly successful in its 

 cultivation. 



The flower spikes vary very considerably in size as well as 

 density, some being long, and with the flowers loosely arranged on 

 the stem, while others, which are, however, less abundant, are short 

 in stature, with a dense flower spike. In colour they, however, 

 vary but little, although specimens with more or less brown or red 

 edging to the sepals and petals are not uncommon. It flowers in 

 June and July. 



