OPHRYDEm—SERAPIADIN^—ORCHIS 185 



ORCHIS LAXIFLORA x MORIO 

 PI. 42. X Orchis alata Fleury 



Tubers ovoid. Leaves narrow, linear-lanceolate, tapering to an acute point. Spike 

 short, few-flowered. Flowers rather large, ranging from pale lilac to rather dark red- 

 purple. Bracts shorter than or equal to ovary. Sepals spreading, ovate-lanceolate 

 to lanceolate, with green or dark purple nerves. Petals shorter, forming a hood 

 over column. Lip more or less folded lengthwise, sometimes nearly flat, wedge- 

 shaped at base, with more or less rhomboidal obtusely angled side-lobes, and 

 distinctly shorter truncate broad often emarginate mid-lobe, paler in the middle with 

 numerous darker spots. Spur curved slightly upwards, rather long, compressed, 

 thickened at the rounded or truncate end. 



The veins of the sepals are not always easily seen, except by transmitted light. 

 Most of the specimens I have seen were nearer to 0. mono, wliich they resembled 

 by their few-flowered spike, smaller and lighter coloured flowers (as compared with 

 O. laxiflord), green- or purple-veined sepals, spotted lip, and enlarged tip of spur. 

 They differed from 0. morio by the longer narrower more acute leaves, larger flowers, 

 sepals not connivent in a helmet, but open and spreading in one plane, and slightly 

 longer spur, wWch show the influence of O. laxiflora. A plant found near Pisa in 

 June, 1924, looked like a dwarf O. laxiflora, and had large rich purple flowers, broad 

 lip with dark unspotted central area, and but slightly reflexed sides, rounded side- 

 lobes, much shorter mid-lobe, rather long flattened spur notched at the tip, and erect 

 grey-green stem-clasping leaves. 



A remarkable form of x 0. alata found by us near Pisa, May 7th, 1914, had a 

 spike of seven large flowers, in some of which the side-sepals were transformed 

 into lips, giving the flower a very showy appearance. There was only one spur, 

 longer than in 0. laxiflora. According to Penzig lateral sepals replaced by lips have 

 been seen in O. laxiflora, Aceras and Atiacamptis.^ 



Habitat. Moist meadows and pastures, with the parents. Flowers May to June. 



Distribution. Channel Islands. Still in existence in 1923. France, Italy, Switzer- 

 land. V.R. 



8. Orchis incarnata L. 

 PI. 43 (p. 186). Hooded-leaved Marsh Orchid 



Tubers thick, flattened, forking into 2-4 tapering segments, short- or long-tailed, 

 rarely carrot-shaped, long, tapering; roots numerous, horizontal, sometimes very 

 long. Stem stiff, stout, very hollow and compressible, angled, often purplish above, 



' Considerations geniraks sur les anomalies des Orchidees (1894). 



GBO 24 



