304 The Romance of Wild Flowers 
the supposititious fly, which, though perfectly dry, are 
shining and very like large drops of liquid. These 
“eyes” are licked by the fly in the belief that they 
are globules of water, and in doing so its head 
would touch the base of a pollen-gland and detach 
it by adhesion. Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia 
palustris) has similar fraudulent imitations of nectar 
globules in its flower. 
The Musk Orchis (Herminiwn monorchis), which 
grows locally on chalk downs in the more southern 
portions of England, has a loose slender spike of small 
green flowers. There is no spur or honey, but in the 
evening the flowers give off a musky-odour. Many 
small insects belonging to several orders—Hymen- 
optera, Diptera, Coleoptera, etc. — visit these flowers. 
Of twenty-seven species observed by Mr. George 
Darwin to visit the flowers, the largest was not more 
than one-twentieth of an inch long. 
The purple-flowered Fragrant Orchis (Habernaria 
conopsea) has a slender spur, and the rostellum 
distinctly elongated be- 
tween the glands of the 
pollinia. Owing to the 
fineness of the spur, only 
moths and butterflies can 
get their tongues into it. 
Among the moths fertilis- 
ing it may be mentioned 
the Silver-Y and the Yellow Underwing, which are 
attracted by the fragrant odour. The Butterfly 
Orchis (H. bifolia) has whitish flowers, and is fragrant 
only at night. These two facts imply that night- 
flying moths are specially welcome to it; but on 
Butterfly Orchis 
