34 THE JOUKXAL OF BOTANY 



O. purpureUa form B with O. ericetorum. The tlower is often 

 exactly the same as in the cross ^vith form A, but sometimes with 

 heavier lines and of a more pinkish colour. The plants appear to be 

 nearly always taller than the purpureUa parent — at any rate, we 

 have not found the dwarf segregate. The leaves are sometimes 

 unspotted. 



3. X Orchis vexusta (O. purpureUa xO. FucJisii Druce). 

 Although O. Fuchsii is fairly plentiful in the vicinity of O. pur- 

 pureUa at Aberystwyth, we have not found a case which suggests 

 crossing with form A, but from Ambleside one splendid example was 

 sent us of the cross with form B, and in Armn it frequently occurs. 

 There is the same fine colour as in the case of x O. insignis, but the 

 side-lobes of the lips are nearly always narrower ; the centre-lobe 

 is very large, and deeply marked off from the side-lobes. The lip- 

 pattern is of more or less broken lines, the leaves are heavily or 

 faintly blotched. Of this hybrid we found a single specimen with 

 the dwarf habit and small spots of O. purpureUa, but with the inter- 

 mediate flower. 



4. X Obchigtm^'adexia taeia {Gymnadenia conopsea R. Br. 

 X Orchis purpureJUi). Of this hybrid two forms were found in 

 Arran last July, one nearer the one parent, one nearer the other. 

 In the Orchid Review for Xovember 1921 (p. 132) a photograph 

 of form A, a group of three plants, was published, with a short 

 description of both types ; but no name was then assigned to it. 



(A) Three plants were found, which looked at a distance very 

 like a coarse type of Gymnadenia conopsea. The flowers were 

 strongly scented, the spurs long and very stout — if anything, a little 

 darker in tint than the lip, which is unusual. The lip was small, 

 though larger than that of G. conopsea, trilobed, with a pattern of 

 spots and much-broken lines. The leaves were rather short, stout, 

 unspotted, rather pale green. It might be diflicult to decide between 

 the claims of O. latifolia and O. purpureUa to be one of the parents ; 

 but we considered the very stout, deep-colom-ed spur to be decisively 

 in favour of O. purpureUa as the spur of O. latifoUa is pale, and 

 much more slender. The tallest plant was about 2 dm. high. By 

 the courtesy of the editor of the Orchid Review, the figure above 

 referred to is here reproduced (PL 561 A). 



(B) Only a single plant of this was found. It was gathered as 

 a very slender, delicate example of O. purpureUa, and only recog- 

 nised as a hybrid on closer examination at home. It was a dwarf 

 plant about 1 dm. high, with leaves and stem inclining to yellowish 

 green ; leaves slender, narrow, and spotted. The flowers were small, 

 scented ; the lips smaUer than those of O. purpureUa, of a redder 

 purple, with a long and very stout spm-, exceedingly large, in fact, in 

 comparison with the rest of the flower. It is a distinct and most 

 interesting type. 



In the case of the Arran plants (but not of the others) it should 

 be said that O, prcetermissa var. pulcheUa Druce might be one 

 parent, rather than O. purpureUa — in all except the last (4B). 

 Dr. Druce's plant is discussed in connection with O. purpureUa in 



