122 FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



long slender raceme ; and each one has a long lip, divided into 

 two very narrow lobes. 



The other two belong to the genus Orchis. They are the Green- 

 winged Meadow Orchis {0. Morio), and the Early Purple Orchis 

 (0. mascula), and may be distinguished by the following summary 

 of their characteristics : 



The Green-winged Orchis. — Root with two undivided tubers, 

 and stem from six to twelve inches high. Leaves few, narrow, at 

 the base of the stem only ; but a few, loose, sheathing scales above 

 them. Flowers usually about eight in number, forming a loose 

 spike. Bracts thin, pink, about the same length as the ovary. 

 Sepals purplish, arching over the smaller petals. Lip longer than 

 the sepals, and divided into three short lobes. Spur a httle shorter 

 than the ovary, and very blunt. The plant is abundant in the 

 South of England and in South Ireland, but less common in the 

 North. The flowers appear during May and June. 



The Early Purple Orchis. — Root with two undivided tubers. 

 Stem from six to eighteen inches high, including the loose spike of 

 flowers. Leaves broad, and often spotted. Flowers numerous, 

 usually purple, but sometimes pink or even white. Bracts coloured, 

 nearly as long as the ovary. Upper sepals and petals arched over 

 the ovary ; lateral sepals acute, and turned upwards and back- 

 wards. Lip about the same length as the sepals, divided into three 

 short lobes, the middle one notched, and the lateral ones turned 

 backward. Spur as long as the ovary, obtuse. The plant is 

 generally distributed, growing in moist meadows and in woods, 

 flowering from April to June. 



Finally, we have to note two early-flowering grasses of pastures. 

 One of these is the Fox-tail Grass [Alopecurus pratensis), wliich grows 

 from one to two feet high, and may be identified with the aid of 

 our illustration. The other is the Slender Fox-tail {A. agrestis), 

 a very similar plant, but its spike of flowers is narrower, especially 

 towards the top, and the sheaths of its leaves are not so loose as in 

 the former. 



