N£0TT7EyE— CEPHALANTHERA 53 



oval or reniform, concave, whitish, glistening, with thickened edges. Testa of seed 

 oblong, transparent, with very line meshj 



PI. C, fig. 2, shows a specimen from border of Oxon. and Bucks, photographed 

 by Col. C. T. Green, early June, 1927. 



Habitat, Woods and shady places, bushy slopes, etc. Flowers May to July 

 according to latitude, elevation, and season. Sometimes disappears for some years. 

 Favours calcareous soil, but is abundant on schist in the south of France. Ascends 

 to 4000 ft. 



Distribution. "Local over greater part of Britain from Hants, and Sussex to 

 Fife, Perth and Argyhsliire " (Sowerby, E.B.). Apparently now very rare. In Ireland 

 recorded for eight of the twelve botanical districts, but not recently found in the 

 north-east. First recorded for Ireland by W. Sherard, near Ballynahinch, Co. Down, 

 in 1694.- Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, N. Africa, Siberia, the 

 Urals, Caucasus, Asia Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, Kaslimir, Japan. 



Cephalantheraensifolia Richard, M«V//. Mus. Paris, iv, 60(1817). Serapias 

 HELLEBORiNEvar. longifohaL. {mpa.it),Sp.p/. (1753). Cephal anther a 

 LONGiFOLiA FritscH (1888). 



Fertilisation. In March, 1920, at Hyeres, where C. ensifolia was frequent, on 

 dissecting its flowers I found in many cases that the pohinia had disappeared without 

 leaving a trace behind. In one flower both pollinia were intact in the anther, but a 

 whole pollinium and portions of another were adhering to the stigma. These must 

 evidently have come from another flower. It was clear (i) that the pollinia are 

 removed from a large number of flowers, (2) that pollen is deposited on the stigma 

 from some outside source. This seemed to indicate that probably insects removed 

 the poUinia and transferred them to the stigmas of other flowers, but how could this 

 be possible, there being no rosteUum to provide the necessary viscid material to 

 fasten the pollinia to insects? 



I next observed that if the anther was pressed back on its hinge, it at once sprang 

 back to its former position when released. Normally it leans forward, so that the 

 lower part of the curved pollinia rests on the upper edge of the stigma. To ascertain 

 whether they became anchored there by pollen-tubes, as described by Darwin in the 

 case of C. grandiflora, I pressed back the anther with a needle. It moved easily, 

 carrying the pollinia with it. These were quite free, with no trace of adhesion to the 

 stigma. When I released the anther it sprang smartly back, with so much elasticity 

 that in one case both pollinia were flung bodily out of the flower. What is the object 

 of this elastic spring-hinge ? 



Delpino suggested that the viscid secretion with which the stigma is always covered 



■ Rchb. Icones, xiii, PL 118. = Cjbele Hibernka (1898). 



