eral other similar southern specimens in the Gray Her- 
barium, clearly referable to S. gracilis var. floridana, as 
typical S. tuberosa Raf. and these may be taken to indi- 
‘ate the strongly marked geographic variant to which he 
referred in ‘‘Rhodora’’*. From a study of these speci- 
mens and of Professor Fernald’s remarks, it is apparent 
that he has misidentified some of the southern represent- 
atives of JS. gracilis and has treated them as conspecific 
with the slender forms of S. Gray: which range south- 
ward to Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Actually 
S. gracilis var. floridana is quite distinct from S. Gray. 
It differs in the relatively narrower blade of the lip which 
is usually constricted near the apex and is conspicuously 
5-nerved on the claw. The lip ranges between 8 mm. 
and 5mm. in length. (The lip of the Drummond speci- 
men, for example, is 8.4-4 mm. long.) The lip of S&. 
Gray? in relation to its length is broader than the lip of 
S. gracilis var. floridana. In outline it is commonly 
broadly ovate, obtuse or rounded-quadrate, the average 
length being about 8 mm. The blade of the lip is white 
and rarely more than 8-nerved beyond the middle. It 
gives the impression of being 8-nerved on the claw and 
paucinervate above. The lip of S. gracilis var. floridana 
is yellow on the central portion. In the extreme South 
S. Grayi is a very rare species and some of the herbari- 
um records that have been relied upon for reporting 
Florida stations should be restudied to ascertain whether 
or not they are actually based on variants of S. Grayi or 
on variants of WS. gracilis var. floridana. Furthermore, 
the likelihood of hybridity should not be overlooked 
where S. Grayi and S. gracilis mingle. 
In his reduction of S. Gray: to varietal rank, Fernald, 
as stated above, was influenced by the belief that S. 
® Rhodora 48 (1946) 192, 
[ 20 | 
