„4 NATIVE BRITISH ORCHIDACE^ 



SmaU leafless herbaceous plants with branched coral-like rhizome, 2-5 leafless 

 sheaths loosely claspin? the stem, and small yellowish flowers with a white tongue- 

 shaped lip. Essentiallf underground plants (like Epipogon), growing and mcreasing 

 beneath the sofl, feeding on organic matter in a state of decomposition (dead leaves, 

 decaying wood, etc.) and only throwing up a flower-stem to produce seeds to 

 colonise fresh ground, and maintain the vigour of the species by cross-fertilisation. 

 About 12 species loiown in Europe, temperate Asia, N. America and Mexico, but 

 only our species in Europe. 



I. CORALLORHIZA INNATA R. Br. 



PI. 20 B (p. 112); PI. E, fig. 3 (p. 108). Coral-root 



Rhizome coral-like, horizontal, fleshy, cream-coloured, with knob-like rounded 

 branches. Flowering-stem leafless, arising from a branch of the rhizome, erect, 

 slender, short (up to 20 cm.), solid, glabrous, pale yellow-green, with 2-4 long 

 membranous brown whitish or green obtuse or acute mucronate brown-nerved 

 leafless sheaths, often reaching the middle of the stem, loose and slightly open at 

 the tip. Bud springing from the axil of a sheath just above the junction of stem and 

 rhizome. Raceme spike-hke, lax. Flowers 4-12, small, inconspicuous, greenish 

 yellow with white lip with reddish markings at the base. Bracts very small, mem- 

 branous, sometimes shorter than the stalk of the ovary, rarely half as long as the 

 ovary itself, triangular acute or truncate, i-nerved, sometimes with 1-2 short teeth. 

 Ovary spindle-shaped (± 7 mm. long), untwisted, flattened in front with three 

 prominent and three lesser longitudinal obtuse ridges, stalk short, twisted. Seed- 

 capsules pendent, spindle-shaped. Side sepals curving forwards on each side of lip, 

 linear-lanceolate with incurved edges making them trough-hke, yellow or yellowish 

 green, sometimes with a reddish edge; upper sepal concave leaning forward over 

 petals', i-nerved. Petals nearly flat with a little spur-like depression at the base, 

 eUiptic-oblong, obtusely pointed, i-nerved, yellowish spotted with reddish brown 

 within, sometimes streaked with violet. Lip small, oblong, tongue-shaped, directed 

 upwards and then turning sharply downwards, as long as but broader than the 

 sepals, white, crystalline, with crimson blotches, hnes or dots and two broad distant 

 longitudinal slightly raised ridges at the base; side-lobes small, rounded or tooth-hke, 

 at the base of the lip, sometimes absent; mid-lobe obtusely pointed or notched with 

 irregularly eroded edges often turned up. Column long, slightly curved forwards, 

 convex behind, flat streaked with violet in front, truncate at apex, not winged. 

 Anther hinged to back of column and soon falling off, nearly flat, with two hollows 

 above the cells, small, yellowish, turning brown (sometimes even in bud), without 

 beak. Pollinia ovoid, ahnost globular, each divided into two, or bi-partite. Stigma 



