i68 NATIVE BRITISH ORCHIDACE^ 



Chilton, which, if not an error of identification, must have been due to a wind- 

 borne seed. 



Mid- and Southern Europe: Alsace Lorraine, Baden, Belgium, France, Italy, Spam, 

 Switzerland. South Tyrol, ascending to 2000 ft. near Trient, Balkan peninsula, 

 Crimea, Caucasus, Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, Cyprus, N. Africa, Persia. 



Fertilisation. See "Fertilisation and Pollination". I saw a hive-bee at Challes- 

 les-Eaux, Savoie, in May, 1929, go to Cephalanthera ensijolia, which it immediately 

 deserted for Orchis purpurea, from which it withdrew a pair of poUinia from one 

 flower. It then went to 0. simia, from which it also withdrew a pair of pollinia, and 

 afterwards to 0. ustulata, on wliich I took it before it had time to remove any pollinia. 

 I also took a hive-bee, Apis mellifica, bearing seven pollinia, all belonging to 0. simia, 

 at Challes-les-Eaux in May, 1929 (PL 34, A i). The unusual conduct of the first 

 bee mentioned was probably due to all the spikes being in the same vase. It was 

 apparently not satisfied with any of them, for it did not visit a second flower on any 

 spike. 



2. Orchis militaris L. 

 PL 36. Soldier Orchid, Military Orchid 



Tubers two, ovoid; roots few, short. Stem 30-40 cm., round, light green, slightly 

 angled and often tinged with violet above, with 2-3 membranous acute sheaths at 

 base. Leaves close together at base of stem, unspotted, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 

 acute or obtuse, rather broad and thick, fight green and glossy above, paler and 

 slightly glaucous beneath, the upper erect loosely clasping the stem. Spike oval or 

 coSical, later cylindrical, many-flowered, dense or rather lax. Flowers rather large, 

 rose or pale red-violet, honey-scented, opening from below upwards. Bracts 4-6 

 times shorter than the ovary, membranous, pellucid, rose-coloured, nearly triangular, 

 acute, obtuse or somewhat truncate. Ovary slender, linear, sessile, much twisted, 

 often' violet-tinged. Seed-capsule oblong with six prominent ridges. Sepals elliptic- 

 lanceolate, acute or sub-obtuse, comiivent in an ovate or ovate-lanceolate acute 

 helmet, pale ashen grey flushed rose or violet outside, veined and spotted with 

 darker 'red-violet within, their bases coherent. Petals very narrow, linear acute, 

 I -nerved. Lip rather longer than sepals, or equalling them, rose, nearly white m the 

 centre with scattered tufts of red-violet hairs, 3-lobed, lobes bright rose or red-violet, 

 darker, side-lobes short, narrow, linear obtuse or slightly spatulate, mid-lobe broadly 

 linear with more or less parallel sides, variable in length, but usually longer than the 

 side-lobes, ending in two widely divergent oblong or eUiptic entire or minutely 

 toothed lobelets, shorter and 2-4 times broader than the side-lobes, with a short 



