I02 



NATIVE BRITISH ORCHIDACE^ 



nearly as long, green outside, red-purple within. Lip linear, exceeding sepals, hori- 

 zontal or pendent, with an erect lanceolate acute tooth on each side at the base, 

 divided about the middle into two linear tapering divergent terminal lobes, brownish 

 red. Fruiting capsule globular. Column tliick, very short with a curious leaf-like 

 hood at the apex protecting the anther. Stigma Iddney-shaped. Rostellum oblong, 

 2-3 -toothed at apex. Anther oblong, with a small obtuse tooth at apex. Pollinia 

 two, bi-partite, without caudicles, club-shaped. Seeds without suspensor, cells of 

 hyaline testa rectilinear without stride. 



A frail slender inconspicuous little plant easily recognised by its pair of small 

 heart-shaped stalkless almost opposite leaves, its tiny green flowers with forked 

 reddish lip (looking at the first glance as if withered), and its small stalked globose 

 ovary. Very rarely a third leaf is produced above the usual pair. According to Rouy 

 (F/. de France, xiii, 215) it smells of musk, especially at night. 



Habitat. Mountain woods (especially pine-woods) and turfy moors under heather, 

 also in spongy cushions of wet moss. Boggy heaths in mountain districts in Ireland. 

 Flowers July to September. 



Distribution. From N. Devon northwards, rare in the south, almost all Scotland 

 to Orkney and Shetland. Rather rare in Ireland, but found in most districts, de- 

 scending to 1 5 o ft. in Antrim {Cjb. Hib. p. 3 3 8). Europe from Iceland and Scandinavia 

 to the Pyrenees and Apennines, Mid-Russia, Transcaucasia (A. and G.), N. Asia, 

 N. America (Hooker). 



LiSTERA coRDATA R. Br. (1813). Ophrys cordata L. (1753). Epipactis 

 coRDATAAUm. (1785). Helleborine CORDATA Schmidt (1794). Neottia 

 cordata Rich. (1818). 



I first saw this plant at Les Plans, in Switzerland, in rather dry places under Scotch 

 firs, and afterwards in the Boreon Valley above Nice, amongst spongy cushions of 

 wet moss, where it was almost twice as tall as at Les Plans, but did not differ other- 

 wise. No variation was produced by the warmer climate of the Alpes Maritimes (both 

 stations are a little over 1000 m. above the sea), or by the much wetter habitat, except 

 in height. It is abundant near Chamonix, and is essentially a plant of mountain forests, 

 often found growing with Corallorht:ia. 



Fertilisation. Similar to that of L. ovata. The tooth-hke basal lobes curving up 

 on each side of the lip cause a visiting insect to approach from straight in front. 

 As soon as it touches the sensitive rostellum the viscid matter is explosively dis- 

 charged, and cements the pollinia to the head of the intruder. The rostellum then 

 bends downwards, protecting the virgin stigma, subsequently rising up and leaving 

 the way of access open to the next visitor. The flowers are frequented by minute 

 Diptera and Hymenoptera (Darwin, Fert. Orchids, p. 1 24)- 



