ATEOTT/EyE— CEPHALANTHERA 55 



3. CepHALANTHERA RUBRA Richard 

 PI. 5. Red Helleborine 



Rhizome descending with numerous moderately thick fleshy roots, mostly from the 

 base of the stem, where the new bud also arises. Stem 2-5 dm., erect, solid, striate 

 and clothed with short glandular hairs above, rather rough to the touch, with loose- 

 fitting leafless sometimes green-tipped 7-9-nerved sheaths at the base. Leaves few, 

 distant, sheathing at the base, much longer than the internodes, linear-lanceolate, 

 alternate, spreading, acute, glabrous, often folded, dark green above, paler beneath, 

 with 3-5 prominent and several intermediate nerves; the lowest often oval-oblong, 

 concave, the uppermost almost linear, tapering, acute. Spike lax, flowers 3-10 or 

 more, large, conspicuous, bright rose, not scented, sessile or nearly so, opening rather 

 wide. Bracts linear-lanceolate, tapering, acute, usually exceeding the ovary, the 

 lower sometimes longer than the flowers, 3-7-nerved, glandular-hairy. Ovary short 

 (±1 cm.), slender, sessile or short-stalked, twisted at base, glandular-hairy, with 

 violet-tinged ridges. Ripe capsule, erect, ± 2 cm. long, rather trigonous, with six 

 cord-like ridges. Sepals lanceolate, tapering, acute, keeled, bright rose, glandular- 

 hairy outside, glabrous within, paler at the base, 5-7-nerved, spreading rather wide, 

 with tips turned outwards, the upper arched over the column. Petals lanceolate, 

 shorter and broader, bright rose, paler at the base, darker (often with red-violet 

 streaks) at the tip, 5-7-nerved, loosely connivent over the column. Lip erect, 

 ± parallel with column at base (making the flower tubular), then curving outwards, 

 jointed; basal part forming a rounded bag, with an erect rounded lobe on each side, 

 white, glabrous, with several irregular yellowish ridges diverging fan-wise to the 

 edges; apical part lanceolate, narrow, tapering, white, edged and tipped with violet- 

 rose, with 7-9 thin erect parallel sinuous frilled or toothed crests, the outer pair 

 sometimes faint. Column erect, slender, slightly curved, half as long as the lip, flat 

 in front, rounded behind, violet-rose (as also the anther and stigma), with a triangular 

 tooth to which the anther is affixed by the middle of its back, and ending in a tooth 

 at each side. Anther leaning forwards at the top of the column against the back of 

 the stigma, broad, hood-shaped, covered with papillae outside. Pollinia two, long, 

 narrow, somewhat crescent-shaped, whitish, greyish blue or violet-rose, their centres 

 projecting slightly from the anther-cells. Pollen-grains solitary, oval, pitted. Stigma 

 on front of column immediately below the anther, transversely oval, concave, 

 glistening. Testa of seed transparent, reticulate, mesh larger and more open than in 

 the other two species. 



C. rubra, like C ensifolia and C. grandiflora, while preserving several evidently 

 ancient characters, appears to be free from any tendency to develop new ones. It 

 seems to have reached the limit of its evolution, and to have settled down as a 



