NEOTTIE^—EPIPACTIS 6i 



Sepals keeled, lanceolate, concave, the lateral slightly longer than the median and 

 rounded out on one side, obtuse or acute, brownish, whitish or dull green and rough 

 with short hairs outside, violet-red and glabrous within, with 3-5 prominent nerves 

 and faint sometimes branched veins (best seen when pressed). Petals slightly 

 shorter, lanceolate, obtuse, glabrous, white, flushed violet-red at base with 3-7 some- 

 times branched nerves. Lip equal to sepals ; basal half (hypochile) cup-like, shallow, 

 cut low in front, with an upright triangular ear on each side, white with rosy parallel 

 veins and many bright yellow raised spots down the middle, perhaps glands for the 

 secretion of honey, with which the cup becomes filled; front half (epichile) joined 

 on by a narrow elastic hinge (the edges passing within the erect ears of the basal cup), 

 broadly oval, rounded or truncate, flat or slightly folded, with wavy frilled upturned 

 edges, white with rose-red nerves, with a quadrangular furrowed yellow plate with 

 3-4 teeth in front projecting over its base. Column short, expanding upwards, 

 yellowish green (with a rather large staminode on each side of the anther), at an 

 obtuse angle with the ovary. Stigma transversely oval or sub-quadrangular, slightly 

 bi-lobed below, with rounded corners above. Rostellum nearly globular, projecting 

 from the middle of the upper edge of the stigma, leaving behind a small square 

 stump when removed. Anther relatively large, oval, hood-shaped, obtuse, yellowish, 

 sessile, projecting slightly over the edge of the stigma, its apex rounded, empty. 

 Pollinia oval, yellowish white, friable, without caudicles, partially, sometimes 

 wholly, divided into two ; pollen-grains cohering in fours but not compressed, tetrads 

 tied together by fine elastic threads, wliich join to form a brown line down the front 

 of the pollinium. Seeds: testa transparent, short, broad, ovoid, mesh open; embryo 

 small, lemon-shaped, yellow, half as broad as testa. 



Habitat. Bogs, marshes, moist grassy places, damp sandy ground between dunes. 

 Flowers June, July. 



Distribution. England, Wales and Scotland, from Cornwall and Kent to Perth 

 and Fife. Generally distributed, sometimes locally abundant. In Ireland found in 

 most districts, but said to be rather rare. Europe (except Arctic), N. Africa, Caucasus, 

 Asia Minor, Persia, the Himalayas, Siberia, Japan. 



Epipactis palustris Crantz, Shrp. Austr. p. 462 (1769). Serapias Helle- 



BORINE 7] palustris L., Sp. pi. p. 95O (1753). S. LONGIFOLIA L., SjSt. ed. 12 



(1767). Epipactis LONGIFOLIA Allioni (1783). Arthrochilium palustre 

 Beck (1890). 



Var. ochroleuca Barla. Flowers yellowish white, lip pure white. Freshfield, 

 Lanes., and probably elsewhere with the type; Kenfig pool, Glamorgan. 



Var. ericetorum A. and G. Sjii. in, 8ii. A dwarf few-flowered form often only 

 10 cm. high, with white or rosy flowers, sometimes abundant in flat rather moist 

 sandy ground between dunes. Coasts of S. Wales, Lancashire, etc., Wexford (Druce). 



