33 



EPIPACTIS LATIFOLIA IN BRITAIN 

 {EpipacUs lalifolia All., including E. media Fries, as described by 



Babington.) 



Br R EV . T. Stephenson, D.D., and T. A. Stephenson, M.Sc. 



In this Journal for September 1920 (pp. 209-212) we published 

 a note on the British species of Epipactis. The present paper is 

 an attempt to justify the position there taken up as to the forms 

 hitherto generally assigned to E. latifolia or media. It seems 

 advisable to start with Babington's diagnosis of the two species in 

 his Manual of British Botany, and to discuss afterwards the literarv 

 questions involved, which; happily, are now resolved with almost 

 complete finality. 



, ^l differences between E. latifolia and E. media, as ci ve „ 

 by Babington are that in latifolia the leaves are broadly ovate 

 below and ovate-oblong above, while in media they are ovate-obW 

 below and narrow-lanceolate above, grading evenly into bracts • the 

 lip of the flowers in latifolia is broader than long, with recurved tip 

 and smooth lip-bosses; in media it is longer than broad, the tip 

 not recurved and the lip-bosses plicate-rugose : in latifolia the 

 lowest leaf-sheaths are appressed to the stem; in media thev are 

 tunnel-shaped. These are the chief differences, and if thev reallv 

 were constant, there would be no doubt of the existence "of two 

 distinct forms or species. But Dr. Druce (B. E. C Rep 1918 

 p. 337) long since pointed out that no reliance is to be placed in anv 

 of the characters thus distinguished, although in his edition of 

 Hayward i ^Botanist's i Pocket-book, 1914, media still appears, with 

 Lmtons E atroinruhs as form (b), and Druce's platyphylla as 

 form 0). No doubt Dr. Druce would now delete media altogether 



In some years we found E. latifolia {media) very plentiful in 

 W Cardiganshire; m fact, its abundance was simply in the inverse 

 proportion to the amount of wood-cutting and roadside-cleaning that 

 went on We examined many scores of plants, and found that in the 

 configuration of the leaves and flower-lips every possible cross 

 combination occurred We found no viridiflora, and concluded that 

 all the plants belonged to one very variable species. Some of these 

 variations it may be worth while to describe. 



One plant with a stout leafy stem of 27 dm. had broad ovate 

 leaves below, very strongly veined, growing longer and more lanceolate 

 above, and ending m an abruptly narrowed, bract-like leaf 25 cm 

 below the dense spike ; petals and sepals very broad, lips much broader 

 than long, with recurved tip and two pea-like side-bosses scarcely 

 rugose at all. Ihis suits fairly well the description of latifolia 

 Close to it was a taller plant of 6 dm., with similar flowers but 

 eaves regularly graded into the bracts and nearly twice as Ion- the 

 lowest funnel-shaped, the next ovate-lanceolate, then narrow-lanceo- 

 late, grading into bracts. The lowest bract was actuallv larger than 

 the topmost leaf, being 9 cm. long. Here is a media' type o£ leaf 

 with a latifolia type of flower. ' 



Another specimen wholly agreed with the description of media 

 Journal of Botany.— Vol. 59. [Februakt, 1921 ] D 



