OPHRYDE^—SERAPIADIN^— ORCHIS 173 



between the two shallow apical lobes. A curious peloric form I saw at Challes-les- 

 Eaux had long narrow sepals which remained closed, the lip reverted to a petal which 

 turned down between the two lateral sepals, and gave a narrow entrance to the flower 

 (PI. A, fig. i). Brebissoni mentions a plant with 3-lipped flowers, each petal trans- 

 formed into a spurred lip. The tooth between the terminal lobes of the lip seems to 

 be practically always present. 



In Savoie, France, 0. purpurea hybridises not infrequently with 0. simia, and the 

 combinations of the dark helmet of the former with the slender "arms and legs" 

 of the latter are quaint and pleasing. It crosses occasionally with 0. militaris, pro- 

 ducing very beautiful rich-coloured spikes, handsomer than either of the parents, 

 with the lip of 0. militaris and the helmet of 0. purpurea. 



Habitat. Copses, open woods, more rarely open downs, on chalk or limestone. 

 Very local in distribution, now apparently found only in Kent. Anne Pratt ^ says 

 that Kentish people called it the Lady Orchid, owing to the resemblance of the flower 

 to a lady in a widespread gown and close bonnet. It was sometimes so plentiful that 

 it was carried into the towns for sale. This authoress gathered a specimen near 

 Chatham with a stem 2 ft. 5 in. high, and a spike so large that two hands could 

 scarcely enclose it. Webster states3 that less than a quarter of a century ago, in all 

 shades from dull white to very deep mulberry, it was abundant in Kent on forest 

 slopes facing east. Hanbury and MarshaU^ say that 0. purpurea is a marked feature 

 of the thickets and copses on the chalk downs, and that it is infinitely more plentiful 

 in Kent than elsewhere. Luxford5 says that it was once found on Buckland Hill 

 by the Rev. W. Wood, Prebendary of Canterbury. A single specimen is reported 

 to have been recently found in the Ouse district, near Lewes, Sussex. Blackstone 

 mentions^ that it grew in the chalk-pit near the paper-mill at Harefield, Middlesex. 

 Bicheno7 says that since Blackstone's time it has been gathered frequently in Middlesex, 

 but Peter and Michael CoUinson's MS. (about 1790) states that they diligently 

 searched the chalk-pit, but could never discover it or 0. militaris. Its disappearance 

 may perhaps be explained by the following remark of Peter CoUinson quoted by 

 Dillwyn in the Uortus Coilinsonianus, p. 36: "There is. . .a parson of Cowley, near 

 Uxbridge who is orcliis-mad, takes up all, leaves none to seed, so extirpates all 

 wherever he comes, which is cruel, and deserves chastisement".^ It is stated9 that 

 O. purpurea was formerly reported from Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and 

 even Lincolnshire, but that the last named is probably an error. The author said 



1 Fl. Normandie, ed. 3, p. 295. 



2 Flowering Plants of Great Britain. 3 Brit. Orch. ed. 2, p. 84 (1898). 

 4 Fl. Kent (1899). 5 Fl. Keigate (1838). 



^ Fasc. plant, circa Harefield {ijij). "> Trans. Linn. Soc. xii, 30. 



^ Dyer and Trimen, Fl. Middlesex, p. 270 (1869). 

 9 O.R.I, 164(1893). 



