OPHRYDE^—SERAPIADIN^— ORCHIS 205 



shaped at the base), flat or nearly so, pale lilac-rose, whitish or pure white, with 

 darker usually symmetrical red-violet lines, loops, or spots, faint or absent in the 

 case of albinos. Lip divided to about the middle with mid-lobe (often considerably) 

 longer than side-lobes ; or with tliree nearly equal lobes {trilohatd) ; or only shallowly 

 lobed at the apex, with mid-lobe usually considerably narrower and often shorter 

 than side-lobes {eiodes, PL 51). Side-lobes rounded, or oblong and divergent, with 

 more or less parallel sides, rounded or obliquely truncate at apex, entire, irregularly 

 toothed, or crenate. Mid-lobe longer than, equal to, or slightly shorter than side- 

 lobes, tongue-shaped with rounded tip ; or triangular and more or less acute ; or like 

 a broad dagger-blade; or small and tooth-like {eiodes). Spur nearly as long as ovary, 

 but variable (4-10 mm.), neither stout nor slender, slightly conico-cyltndrical, enlarging 

 gently towards the moderately wide mouth (slender with narrower mouth in eiodes), 

 straight or very slightly curved, directed downwards, usually pale violet. Throat of 

 flower appearing cordate through downward projection of rostellum. Stigma on 

 its roof, bordered by a violet line. Rostellum pouch-like, whitish, viscid discs 

 colourless. Anther erect, pear-shaped, purplish. Pollinia dark green; caudicles 

 yellow, transparent. In albinos pollinia are yellow. Each tuber divides into two fangs, 

 either or both of which may again divide, so that there are 3-4 segments. The stem 

 may be tall and robust in lowland woods, or dwarf and stunted in high and exposed 

 positions. It is usually solid and not compressible, but in wet situations has been 

 found with a very slender central tube. The leaves vary from broadly oblong to 

 lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, long and narrow {eiodes), and may be strongly or 

 faintly spotted, or quite unspotted. The spots may be large and transversely elHptical, 

 or smaU and round, or reduced to tiny dots. The lower leaf is usually elliptical, short 

 and broad compared with the others, or it may be much the same type as they {eiodes). 

 The bracts are usually almost hidden by the flowers, but sometimes exceed them, and 

 form a tuft at the tip of the young spike. The ground-colour of the flowers is usually 

 pale, but sometimes the markings are so strong as to give the spike a bright con- 

 spicuous colour. This was especially noticeable near the Argei:itiere glacier above 

 Chamonix, where 0. macuiata had flowers as dark and brilliant as the local O. iatijoiia, 

 and very probably owed this to a strain of 0. iatijoiia in its constitution (PI, 50, 

 figs, 5, 6 and 14) (p. 206). 



In Britain there are four easily recognised forms of O. macuiata, though the limits 

 between them are not always very sharply defined. 



(i) The tall (up to 60 cm.) woodland form of clayey and loamy soils with broad 

 oblong heavily spotted leaves (the lowest short, broad and rounded at apex), conical 

 spike, and deeply 3 -lobed lip, the mid-lobe often considerably longer than the 

 side ones. 



(2) Sub-sp. eiodes Grisebach (as species). Leaves linear to lanceolate (no short 



