^z II.OWI.I^S ()!• Till'', l'Il<:i.l)S AM) Ml'.ADOWS 



I he second l.Htiii name refers lo the sj)()tt(tl pcials, ihc spots being 

 hiine\' j^uides, or lo llie spotted leaves. 



It is called Adani-antl-I'^ve, Adder's-orass, Daldherry, Crawfoot. 

 Crowfool, Head Man's l'"ini:4crs, 1 )ead Man's Hands, lien's Coniijs, 

 LoN'er's W .uuon, .Man < )rchis, Xi^hlca];, Retl-lcad. 



Essential Si-kcikic Ciiakactkks: — 



292. Orchis niaciilala, L. — Tubers palmate, stem tall, solid, leaves 

 lanceolate, s[)ottcd, llowcrs lilac, s[)()tled, sepals 3, spreadini^', Ijracts 

 with three or more veins. 



Purple Crocus (Crocus officinalis, Ihids.) 



The Pm'ple C rocus is a sdiuhern [)lant found in .Mitl.ind .S. I^urope, 

 and not earlier in the N. Temperate Zone. It is naturalized in Notts 

 and Middlesex, and a few oth(-r jjlaces in Eni^land and Ireland. 



Like the Yellow Crocus, which is found likewise in meadows in 

 Warwick, .Stafford, Salop, Notts, Derby, Chester, S. Lanes, S.W. 

 Yorks, the Purple Crocus is but naturalized, and though established 

 in the localities now known for it, it was doubtless an escape 

 ori^inall)'. 



It l;tows in wet low-lyini^' meadows by the maroin of rivers in 

 central and .S. Eno'land. 



This short-stemmed plant (the aerial stem is really a scape) is 

 characterized by its bulb-like stem base, with fibrous coats, broad and 

 flattened. The sheaths of the leaves are netlike, torn, dirty brown, 

 and enclose the scape. The leaves are radical leaves, linear, furrowed, 

 white below. 



The flowers are purj^le and appear with the leaves. They are 

 borne on erect scapes with hairs. The mouth of the flower is closed 

 w ith hairs, and the segments are blunt. The stigmas, which are deep- 

 orange colour, are expanded. The anthers are bright -yellow. The 

 capsule is on a long, slender flower-stalk with small red seeds. 



It is 6 in. in height. The flowers open in April. It is a perennial 

 plant propagated by division of the roots. 



In Crocus vcnuis honey is secreted by the ovary and rises in 

 the tube, which is n.irrow and filled up by the style, nearly to the 

 expanded moLith. Long-lip[)ed Lepidoptera alone can reach it. The 

 anthers ripen first. The ovary remains below the soil and is thus 

 [)rotected. The anthers dehisce away from the centre or e.xtrorsely, 

 and the stigmas unfold afterwards and touch an insect alighting on the 

 petals. The stigmas are branched. Humble-bees can only skim the 



