66 NATIVE BRITISH ORCHIDACE^ 



The late Mr R. F. Burton of Longner Hall, Salop, kindly explored Bomere Pool, 

 and sent me specimens of the only Epipactis he could find growing there/ 



The drawing of E. media in E.B.S. 2775 was made from a specimen of E. violacea 

 {E.purpurata Smith) from Woburn Abbey, Bedford (E.B. ed. 9, p. 124). 



Habitat. Open woods, clearings and borders of woods, occasionally edges of 

 fields and hedge-banks, rarely sandy warrens. Essentially a woodland plant, it prefers 

 neither deep shade nor fuU sunlight, though sometimes found in both. Flowers late 

 July to early September. 



Distribution. Generally distributed in Great Britain and Ireland. Occurs through- 

 out most of Europe, N. Africa, Asia Minor, Persia, Siberia, Himalayas, Japan,^ 

 N. America (Montreal, Toronto, N.Y. and Pa.), where it is usuaUy considered to 

 have been introduced. 



Epipactis latifolia AlUoni, F/. Vedem. 11, 151 (1785)- Serapias Helle- 



BORINEaLATIFOLIAL. (1753)- S. LATIFOLIA Hudson (1762). HeLLEBORINE 



latifolia Druce (1907). Amesia latifolia Nelson and Macbride (1913)- 



Fertilisation. The anther opens in bud and deposits the two pollinia in the 

 cHnandrium, their upper ends becoming firmly attached to the cap of the rostellum. 

 The latter, on being touched by an insect, bursts, and the liberated adhesive matter 

 instantaneously attaches the pollinia to its head. The nectar in the cup is very attractive 

 to wasps, but not to bees or humble-bees. They do not visit the flowers in the rapid 

 business-like manner of bees, but linger on them some time. The viscid matter there- 

 fore sets slowly. Darwin watched a colony of plants near his house for several years, 

 but although hive- and humble-bees were constantly flying over them, he never saw 

 a bee or a'fly visit the flowers.3 If a flower is not visited the polhnia wither in the 

 clinandrium. There is no self-fertilisation. 



3. Epipactis violacea Dur. Duq. 



PL 8 ; PL K, fig. I (p. 220). Violet-leaved Hellehorine 

 Clustered Hellehorine 



Rhizome descending, deeply buried, often with enlarged knots and blackish scales; 

 roots worm-like, fleshy, thickening downwards, springing from the various nodes 

 at diiferent depths. Top of rhizome thickened in old plants, giving rise to several 

 (one plant had 58) flowering stems. New bud at base of stem with a stout densely 

 hairy rootlet on each side. Stems often clustered, 20-70 cm. taU, erect, rigid, solid, 

 rather slender, grey-green flushed with violet, with dense short whitish hairs above 



I J 3. (19 19), p. 81. These turned out to be E. kptochila. ^ A. and G. Syn. ni, 865. 



3 Vert. Orch. ed. 2, p. 10 1. 



