TAB. 60. 



Tribe Ophrydeae. 



Sab-tribe Habenakieae. 



Genus Platantheea. 



Platanthera virginea, u. sp. — Herba tenera gb\bra spiihamaea vel 

 ultra ; caulis erectus vel decumbens gracillimus bifoliatus ; folium 

 inferius radicale patens ovatum acutum saepe undulatum, 2-5-3'5 cm. 

 lougum, snperius remotum lineare acuminatum multo brevius ; 

 racemus laxe 3-6-fl., bracteis lanceolatis ovario subaequilongis ; flores 

 suberecti, circa 1 cm. longi; sepala patentia, lateralia oblonga acuta, 

 impari paullo angustiora ; petala ovata, basi oblique angustata, 

 incurva, sepalis subduplo breviora ; labellum patens basi unguicu- 

 latam, uugue concavo-gibboso columnae margine utroque adnato, 

 limbo ovato acuto integro vel iuterdum utroque margine 1-denticu- 

 lato, sepalis brevius, circa 4-5 mill, longum ; autbera late ovata, 

 pollinia sphaeroidea, glandulis dissitis nudis ; stigma majusculum 

 hippocrepiforme depressum, margine ungue labelli, apice escepto, 

 circumdatum ; ovarium cylindricum. [Ex exempli, pltir. viv.) 



Hab : Orange Fkee State : sides and summit of tbe Mont-aux- 

 Som'ces, alt. from 2450 to 3000 meters, 11. Dec. -Jan., H. G. Flanarjau, 

 Xo. 198"2 ! (in berb. Kew, Brit. Mus., Berlin, my own herb., kc.) — 

 South.-easterii Region; Natal : Van Eeeneu's Pass, at 1800 to 2100 

 met., deflorate in March, _/it/^ Schlechter. 



Plate 60. Fig. 1, flower, front view; 2, ditto, side view; 3, odd 

 sepal; 4, one of the side sepals; 5, a petal; 6, lip, with column, 

 somewhat flattened out, and viewed from above; 7, lip, viewed from 

 below ; 8, flower, the sepals removed ; 9, lip and column ; 10, column, 

 front view ; 11, one of the polHuia, — all variously magnified. 



A delicate glabrous herb, a span or more in height ; stem 

 erect or decumbent, very slender, 'i-leaved ; lower leaf radical 

 spreading ovate acute frequently undulate, 2*5-3"5 cm. long, 

 the upper remote linear acuminate much shorter : raceme laxly 

 3-6-11., bracts lanceolate, about as long as the ovary; flowers 

 suberect, about 1 cm. long ; sepals spreading, the lateral oblong 

 acute, the odd one a little wider ; petals ovate, obliquely narrowed 

 to the base, incurved, about half as long as the sepals; lip 



