200 NATIVE BRITISH ORCHIDACE^ 



in Central Europe which extends to S. Scandinavia, and has nothing to do with 

 marsh orchids. Linnaeus omits all mention of the leaves in his diagnosis of O.latijolia 

 in his Sp. pi., but cites his previous description in Uort. Clijf. (i734), which says 

 "Variat foliis immaculatis ", showing that in tliis, his earliest diagnosis, he regarded 

 the spotted plant as the type. Linnaeus evidently realised the composite nature of 

 his species, for two years later (F/. suecica, ed. z (1755)) he separated from it 

 O. samhucina and 0. incarmta as distinct species, thus removing jmn it the only two forms 

 with invariably unspotted leaves,'' and restricting O. latijolia to plants normally with 

 spotted leaves, but occasionally with unspotted ones. Of his newly created 0. incar- 

 nata he says: "Very similar to the preceding (i.e. 801, latijolia) from which it differs: 

 leaves pale green unspotted, not dark green spotted". All European orchids with 

 spotted leaves sometimes occur without spots. 



The elder Reichenbach {Icon. PI. Crit. vi, 7, no. 771 (1828)) tried to reverse 

 Linnsus' action, transferring the name 0. latijolia to 0. incarnata L., and giving the 

 new name 0. majalis Rchb. to 0. latijolia L. Happily this has fallen into disuse, 

 owing to the inevitable confusion involved. Reichenbach's son regarded his father's 

 0. tnajalis simply as a synonym of 0. latijolia L. 



Orchis latifoli a L., Sp.pl. ed. i, p. 941 (i75 3) as amended by Linnsus,^/. suecica, 

 ed. 2, p. 312 (1755). O. MAJALIS Rchb. p., P/. crit. vi, 7 (1828). 



0. latijolia according to Webster is 0. incarnata, according to Rolfe 0. prcBtermissa, 

 according to Druce O. maculata x 0. prcBtermissa, whilst as understood by most 

 British authors it was an aggregate species including all the above, as well as true 

 latijolia. The latter was the early Linnean point of view in the Sp. pi., abandoned by 

 him after two years' further study. 



As far as my experience goes 0. latijolia on the Continent is a widespread, abundant 

 and stable species which not unfrequently occupies considerable areas to the exclusion 

 of all other dactylorchids.^ Like 0. maculata it has a rather wide range of variation. 

 In some stations the flowers are dark red-violet, in others pale lilac like most of the 

 British plants. 3 The leaf-spots are variable, plants with many small spots, larger 

 transverse spots and ringed spots with green centres all growing together. The last 

 named are not signs of hybridism, and occur where no other species is present with 

 which crossing could have taken place.4 I have found ringed spots very frequent 

 in O. latijolia, but extremely rare in 0. maculata and its sub-sp. elodes. 



Fertilisation. As described under Orchis mascula in "Pollination and Fertilisa- 

 tion". In June, 1879, in Germany, Hermann Miiller caught specimens of homhus 

 Kajellus $ and B. pratorum ? with numerous (up to 10) pollinia on their heads on 



■ 0.00.55-41(1924)- 2/foW. p. 138. 



3 Ibid. p. 287 (1920). ■• Camus, Icon. p. 218 (1929). 



