BRITISH ILORA 



or tubers arc e^fg-sliapod. The leaves are oblong 

 to Inncc-shapciJ, tlie lower blunt, the upper acute. 

 The bracts are small. The perianth is j^rcen. The 

 flowers are greenish-yellow, in a long, dense spike. 

 The sepals are egg-shaped, acute, meeting to- 

 gether, with a purple border, and include the 

 linear, lance -shaped, blunt petals. The lip is 

 3-lobed, perpendicular, yellow, with red borders, 

 narrow, with j lateral and 2 terminal lobes, equal 

 .ind linear, thread-like, the middle one divided 

 into two nearly to the base, with an intermediate 

 tooth. The plant is 8-i5 in. high, flowering in 

 June, and is .i herbaceous perennial. 



Spider Orchid (Ophrys arauifera, Huds. = 0. 

 sf>lie^oilt's. Mill.). -The habitat of this plant is 

 copses, downs, chalky places. The habit is as in 

 the last. The flowers are few, purplish-brown. 

 The petals are green, hairless, short, linear, ob- 

 long, the sepals yellow, green inside. The lip is 

 deep, dull brown, h.'iiry, swollen, broad, convex, 

 4-lobed, with no intermediate appendage in the 

 notch, and has hairless, pale markings resemb- 

 ling a Greek letter in the centre, the edges 

 shortly-lobed, and not (or very slightly) turned 

 down. The middle lobe is large, entire, or 

 notched. The anther is acute, the beak not 

 hooked. The plant is 4-12 in. high, flowering in 

 April and May, .-md is a herbaceous perennial. 



Fly Orchid (Ophrys muscifera, Huds.).— The 

 habitat of this orchid is woods, copses, downs, 

 damp chalky thickets, and pastures. The habit is 

 as in the last. The stem is slender. The leaves 

 are few, linear to oblong. The flowers are dis- 

 tant, bluish-purple. The petals are very narrow, 

 linear, thread-like, reddish -brown. The sepals 

 are yellowish-green. The lip is narrow, oblong, 

 dark purple, 3-lobed, with a broad, nearly square, 

 pale-blue spot in the centre, edged with yellow, 

 the middle lobe long, and divided into two nearly 

 to the base, the lateral lobes turned back. The 

 anther is short and blunt, not beaked. The plant 

 is 6-15 inches high, flowering from May to July. 

 It is a herbaceous pei-ennial. 



Butterfly Orchid {Habenaria bifoUa, Br.).— The 

 habitat of this orchid is wet meadows, woods, 

 heaths. The habit is erect. The stem is tall, 

 and, as the second Latin name denotes, there are 

 only 2 leaves, which are large and oval, blunt. 

 The bracts are small and lance-shaped, as are the 

 upper leaves. The flowers are white, in a slender 

 close spike, small, with an entire linear lip, the 

 petals blunt, meeting together, the spur linear, 

 twice as long as the ovary, the anther cells ])arallel, 

 and the caudicle short, the gland oblong or oval. 

 The stigma is blunt, with a notch and pointed 

 lobes. The flowers are sweet-scented. The 

 plant is 9-18 in. high. It is in flower from June 

 to August, and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Large Butterfly Orchid {Habenaria chlor- 

 antha, Bab. =//. virescens, ZoUik.).— The habitat 

 of this orchid is moist woods and thickets. The 

 habit is erect. The plant is tall and stout. The 

 2 leaves are opposite, large, oval. The flowers 

 are creamy-white, large, arranged in a loose or 

 dense spike. The petals are blunt, uniting. The 



lateral sepals are broad, spreading. The spur is 

 long, stout, bent down, club-shaped, twice as long 

 ,is the ovary. The lip is entire, linear. The 

 anther-cells are distant, usually spreading, twice 

 ;is distant ;il the base as at the top. The central 

 line between is a prominent ridge in front, a groove 

 behind. The stalk of the pollinia or caudicle is 

 longer, attached by a short drumlike stalk to the 

 rounded gland. The stigma is broad, pointed in 

 the middle. The anther is blunt. Tlie plant is 

 6-20 in. high, flowering in July and .\ugust, and is 

 a herbaceous perennial. 



Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium Calccuhis, L.). — 

 The habitat of this plant is dense northern woods, 

 chalky woods, or limestone woods. The habit is 

 as in other orchid types. The stem is leafy below 

 or above, downy. The leaves are 3-4, large, ob- 

 long, egg-shaped, pointed, ribbed. The bracts 

 are leaflike. The flowers are solitary or 2, large, 

 yellowish-brown. The upper sepal is erect, egg- 

 shaped, lance-shaped, pointed, the lateral nar- 

 rower, united below, under the lip. The lip is 

 entire, long, inversely egg-shaped, pale yellow, 

 with darker, netted veins, with a round, upturned 

 end, not so long as the sepals, depressed, swollen. 

 There are 2 fertile anthers, distinguishing it from 

 other British orchids. The middle lobe of the 

 column is egg-shaped, blunt, bent down. The 

 plant is 12-18 in. high, flowering in Mayandjune, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Order IridacEjE 



Foetid Iris (Iris fcetidissima, L.). — The habitat 

 of this orchid is copses and dry hedgebanks. The 

 habit is typically flag-like. The rootstock is stout 

 and creeping. The stem is flattened at the m.'ir- 

 gin, angled. The leaves are green, foetid when 

 bruised, limp. The scape is leaf)'. The flowers 

 are blue or purple, livid. The stalks are not 

 longer than the ovary. The spathes are long- 

 pointed. The sepals are petaloid, lance-shaped 

 to inversely egg-shaped, purple, or yellow. The 

 petals and stigmas are yellow, spoon-shaped. 

 The perianth is beardless, the segments bent 

 back. The berries are rounded, orange-red, with 

 a fleshy testa, the capsule club-shaped. The 

 plant is 2-3 ft. high, flowering in June and July, 

 and is a herbaceous perennial. 



Gladiolus (Gladiolus illyrinis, Ker.). — The habi- 

 tat of this species is open woods, amongst bracken, 

 in the New Forest. The habit is similar to thai 

 of the last. The corm is about the size of a nut, 

 egg-shaped, pointed, with bulbils belows with 

 nearly parallel fibres, netted above, with long, 

 narrow openings. The leaves are sword-shaped, 

 bluish-green, slender. The sheaths are 2-edged. 

 The scape is leafy. The spathes are lance-shaped, 

 nearly equal. The flowers are in a spike, arranged 

 all one side of the stalk, 4-8, red, changing to 

 blue. The perianth is bent over, bell-shaped, the 

 3 upper segments spoon-shaped, the 3 lower in- 

 versely egg-shaped, paler, with purple veins. The 

 tube is nearly 3 times the length of the ovary. 

 The basal petal is acute, longer than the blunt 



