174 NATIVE BRITISH ORCHIDACE^ 



that he had seen authentic specimens from Box Hill gathered in 1842, and from Berk- 

 shire found early in the nineteenth century. Flowers May to early June. 



Distribution. Now almost confined to Kent. Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, 

 Balkan peninsula, Central and Southern Russia, Caucasus, Asia Minor, Corsica. 



Orchis purpurea Huds., Fl. Anglka, p. 334 (1762). O. militaris ^ L., Sp. 

 pi. ed. I, p. 943 (1753). O. FuscA Jacq., Fl. Austr. iv, 307 (1776). O. mili- 

 taris /3 purpurea Huds., Fl. Ajtglica, ed. 2, 11, 384 (i-jj^). O. militaris, 

 Fl. Danica, t. 1277 (1806), etc. 



Fertilisation. See "Pollination and Fertilisation". Mr J. Jacob, of Dover, 

 watched a colony of 0. purpurea, and saw it visited continually by a wasp-hke fly, 

 Odynerus par ie turn, which entirely ignored 0. mascuia, growing with it. I watched a 

 colony in the open near Wye, but nothing came to it. I saw a hive-bee withdraw 

 a pair of pollinia from one flower at Challes-les-Eaux, France, and then visit a flower 

 of 0. simia, from which it also withdrew the pollinia, showing how easily hybrids 

 may arise between these two species. Darwin examined two fine spikes from Kent 

 with 62 flowers, but both pollinia had only been removed from tliree flowers and 

 one from five. He found that 10 spikes only produced 11 capsules. Five of these 

 still had their own pollinia in situ, and were evidently fertihsed by pollen from other 

 flowers. I found one spike at Wye with both pollinia removed from the four lowest 

 flowers, but the few other spikes gathered had no pollinia removed, though there 

 was pollen on the stigmas of one or two flowers in two or three spikes. Insects seemed 

 to be scarce or indifl'erent to the flowers in that year (1919). 



4. Orchis ustulata L. 

 PI. 38. Burnt Orchid 



Tubers sessile, globose or ovoid. Stem short (10-20 cm. in Britain) (abroad, 

 20-30 cm.), slender, cylindrical, sohd (in stout specimens slightly hollow), angled 

 above, somewhat striate and channelled, with 2-3 white membranous sheaths at 

 base. Leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate, erect or spreading, keeled, folded, acute, 

 glabrous, rather bluish green, unspotted, with numerous parallel nerves sometimes 

 connected by cross-veins; the upper more or less loosely embracing the stem, the 

 uppermost bract-Hke, membranous, 3-nerved. Spike ovoid at first, gradually length- 

 ening, dense, many-flowered. Flowers very small, honey-scented, with nearly 

 globular dark brownish red helmet, later becoming much paler (sometimes nearly 

 white), and pure wliite crimson-spotted lip. Bracts lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 

 membranous, purphsh red, lower keeled, shorter than ovary (±10 mm. long), 

 1-3-nerved, nerves green or reddish. Ovary sessile, cyhndrical, twisted, glabrous. 



