OPHRYDE^— GYM NADENIINM— GYMN ADEN I A 141 



glabrous with 2-3 close-fitting brown membranous sheaths at base. Leaves erect, 

 slightly spreading, linear, rather sword-shaped, about 9-16 cm. long, usually narrow 

 (rb I cm.) in Britain (often broader abroad), the lower obtuse or somewhat acute, 

 slightly hooded, strongly keeled, more or less folded, glabrous, rather tliick and firm, 

 opaque with 1-2 or more transparent nerves on each side of mid-rib, and several 

 lesser ones, depressed and more visible below, with abundant minute whitish dots 

 and minutely toothed edges. Lower leaves 3-5, near together on opposite sides of 

 stem; upper 2-3 sessile, lanceolate, bract-like, tapering to a fine point. Spike long 

 (6-10 cm. or more), many-flowered, usually lax, sometimes dense, conspicuous. 

 Flowers small, long-spurred, pale mauve, red-lilac or rose, rarely pure white or 

 bright magenta, strongly scented, agreeable to some persons, displeasing to others, 

 sometimes scented hke a clove-carnation (var. densifio)-d). Bracts lanceolate, tapering 

 to a fine point, 1-3 -nerved, green, often tinged violet, longer than ovary (lower often 

 as long as ovary and flower combined), dotted with minute papillae. Ovary slender, 

 cylindrical, twisted and curved, with three longitudinal ridges (later with six), green 

 tinged violet. Sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, the lateral spreading hori- 

 zontally with rolled-back edges (making them look narrow), the upper forming a 

 hood with the petals. Petals broader and shorter, rounded out on the exterior 

 side, slightly hooded at the tip, connivent. Lip usually broader than long, but some- 

 times wedge-shaped longer than broad, about as long as sepals, 3-lobed, lobes sub- 

 equal, rounded, sometimes obscurely crenate or minutely toothed. Spur long, slender, 

 tapering, \\ times to twice as long as ovary, curved downwards, half-full (or more) 

 of free nectar, the entrance circular. Column very short. Anther pear-shaped, 

 obtuse, cells with a small stigmatic fold between them at base. Staminodes whitish, 

 prominent. Pollinia pale green or greenish yellow, affixed near the forward end of 

 the narrow strap-shaped viscidium, which is nearly as long as the caudicles. Stigmas 

 two, on inner surface of side-wings of column on each side, separated by the foot 

 of the anther, which projects downward and partly hides the entrance to the spur. 



PI. F, fig. 2, shows an enlarged flower (5/1), in wliich the two concave stigmas on 

 side-wings of the column, the large staminodes between them and the sides of the 

 anther, and the absence of a pouch to the rostellum, are well shown. 



Continental authors have named many forms or varieties, such as angustijolia with 

 almost linear leaves, davata with short club-shaped spur, crenulata with broad crenulate 

 side-lobes, sibirka with a rather long wedge-shaped base to the hp, etc. These appear 

 to be fluctuating characters not confined to the named variety in question, but some- 

 times appearing in other varieties or in the type itself. Others appear to be terato- 

 logical forms, e.g. ecalcarata, without spur, inodora, lower bracts without flowers, etc. 

 I have only met with tluee well-marked varieties on the Continent, apart from the 

 type: (1) a very tall late-flowering form with long very loose spike (borders of woods 



