344 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



Floras. It seemed, however, to be very near to Epipactis viridi- 

 flora Eeichb., as described in Lloyd & Foucaud's Fl. de VOuest de 

 France, p. 342 ; and the remark of these authors — " Facile a 

 distinguer par sa fleuraison qui a lieu lorsque l'epi de celui-ci 

 (E. latifolia) commence a se former" — was also very suggestive 

 of our plant. 



Fresh examples were accordingly collected and sent to Mr. 

 E. A. Eolfe, who kindly compared them with authentic specimens 

 of E. viridiflora Eeichb., and confirmed our determination of the 

 dune plant. He informed us that, so far as he could see, our plant 

 agreed completely with the specimens of E. viridiflora at Kew. 



The synonymy, followed by a description based on our 

 examples from the Lancashire sandhills, is as follows : — 



Helleborine viridiflora, comb. nov. 



Epipactis viridiflora Eeichb., Fl. exc, p. 134. 



E. macropodia /3 viridiflora Peterm., Fl. Bien., p. 31. 



E. latifolia All. ft viridiflora Irm., in Linnaea, 16, p. 451 (1842). 



Serapias viridiflora Hoffin., Deutschl. Fl. 1, p. 182. 



S. latifolia f3 silvesiris Pers., Syn. 2, 512 (1807). 



Plant less robust than H. latifolia or H. violacea, with a more 

 slender and wiry stem. Rhizome, slender, far-creeping. Stems, 

 solitary, 2-5 dcm. high, almost glabrous below, with short 

 pubescence above ; base deeply tinged with violet-purple. Lower 

 sheaths, several, amplexicaul, often rather loose; the uppermost 

 slightly funnel-shaped. Leaves, of a fresh yellowish-green; almost 

 all completely embracing the stem, arcuate, and with a tendency 

 to fold conduplicately ; lower and intermediate ones elliptic- 

 lanceolate, the upper linear-lanceolate, acuminate, usually few 

 and distant. Flowers, yellowish green in colour, without any 

 trace of purple or rose, in a lax few-flowered raceme, shortly 

 pedicellate, the lower ones exceeded by the bracts ; smaller, less 

 inclined, and opening earlier than in H. latifolia. Label, whitish- 

 green, triangular-cordate, acuminate, entire or slightly irregular 

 at margin, straight, or but slightly recurved at apex ; with two 

 low slightly wrinkled basal bosses or hunches, separated by a 

 median space. Hijpochile, very ventricose, with w 7 hite, strongly 

 reflexed anterior margins. Germen, large in proportion to the 

 size of the flower, glabrous, or with a few, scattered, soon 

 deciduous hairs. 



Flowering period, from mid- June to end of July.* 

 The other British species of Helleborine to which H. viridiflora 

 is most nearly allied are H. latifolia, media, and violacea, its 

 closest affinities being with the two first. No difficulty will be 

 experienced in separating it from H. violacea (Epipactis purpurata 

 Sm.). The large, widely-open flowers of the latter, white and 

 tinged with purple internally, are far handsomer than the in- 

 conspicuous greenish ones of H. viridiflora. The label in both 



* Camus (Mon. Orch. Eur.), who puts the plant as a sub-species of Epipactis 

 latifolia, says it flowers a month earlier than the type. 



