328 



supposed not to discriminate between it and 0, mascnJa. The flowers form a loose 

 spike, and may. be readily distinguished by their sepals, which, whatever the 

 colour of the florets, are marked with green veins, and curved upwards so as to 

 form a kind of helmet over the rest of the blossom. T have gathered them in 

 damp meadows near to Hereford, of every shade of colour, from white to deep 

 purple, and sometimes richly variegated. 



11. Orchis maculata, or Spotted Palmate Orchis, is as common as both the 

 foregoing. It is a ver}' elegant plant. The flowers are a delicate lilac, and some- 

 times almost white. They are spotted more or less with purple. So also are their 

 leaves. They grow abundantly in our woods, lanes, and pastures. 



12. Orchis usMata. Dwarf Dark-vi'inged Orchis. I have gathered this 

 pretty peculiar little plant frequently on the chalk hills of Surrey, but never 

 in Herefordshire. It is not unknown in our county, though, unquestionably, it 

 is very rare. Mr. Lingwood found one specimen in 1859 in the meadows by the 

 Wye at the foot of Coppet Wood Hill, and he also found it in one other locality. 

 It has been reported to be growing " in plenty " in a meadow near Colwall, and 

 Mr. Lees received some specimens in 1868 from limestone slopes at Mathon. 



13. Orchis latifoUa or Broad-leaved Mar.sh Orchis, is more widely distributed, 

 but is not common. It is described as a tall and somewhat slender plant, the 

 flowers usually deeper coloured and less variegated than O. maculata, with a 

 hollow stem, and leaves remarkably erect and pointed. Mr. Lingwood found it 

 at Orcop ; Mr. Purchas in a damp meadow near the Castle Brook, Bill Mill ; Mr. 

 Ley at Ashe, at Hoarwithy, at Sollershope, and at Eaton Bishop. It has been 

 reported from Bosbury, Egleton, and Widemarsh, Hereford. 



[Var. Orchis incarnata is very rare. Bentham does not note this as a 

 separate species. Mr. Ley found it growing " in some plenty " in June, 1880, in 

 a marsh at Pont Esgob.] 



14. Orchis pyramidalis, or Pyramidal Orchis, is one of the most beautiful of 

 the class. Its dense, compact pyramid of exquisite blossoms of a rich deep pink or 

 crimson purple are unmistakable. It is not common in our county. It has been 

 found at Marcle Hill and at Mordiford. Mr. Purchas, Mr. Ley, and Dr. Bull 

 have gathered it at Fownhope. Mr. Ley reports it from Oldbury Hill. It has 

 been gathered at Cradley, at Whitbourne, at Castle Frome, and the Mill Copse, 

 Cowleigh Park. I found it growing plentifully last year on the Ridgeway, 

 Eastnor Park. Specimens have been gathered in a quarry near Kimbolton, and 

 on the roadside near Berrington Tunnel. It is said to have been found in the 

 western districts of our county, but the only locality given is Bredwardine Hill. 

 At our last Field Meeting at Aconbury Camp, Dr. Wood brought some plants 

 which he found at Canon Frome. Our veteran member, Mr. Edwin Lees, poeti- 

 cally observes, "when in July the elegant marbled butterfly is fluttering about 

 these beautiful Orchids the picture is very exciting to a lover of nature's har- 

 monies." Professor Darwin has written perhaps more enthusiastically of this 

 Orchis than of any other. He says it is " one of the most highly organized species 

 which I have examined," After a very minute description of its several parts, he 

 continues "in no other plant, nor indeed in hardly any animal, can adaptations 



