ORCHIDACE^ 113 



CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD A MONOGRAPH 

 OF THE AMERICAN SPECIES OF 

 SPIRANTHES 



SPIRANTHES VERNALIS, ENG. & GRAY 



Since the publication in Rhodora (6 : 30) of the description 

 and plate of Spiranthes neglecta, I have been enabled, through 

 extensive collections of Spiranthes, both in the field and in her- 

 baria, to make careful studies of the genus with the end in view 

 of investigating the comparative value of characters used to 

 separate the species allied to 8. vernalis, Eng. & Gray. Toward 

 this end I have examined the type material of old and recently 

 established American species, and while obliged to modify former 

 views, I have arrived at conclusions which, if they should prove 

 correct, will considerably alter the present status of the genus 

 in the eastern United States. That the species offer more than 

 ordinary difficulty when we attempt to place them properly or to 

 refer them to their nearest of kin must in many cases be accounted 

 for by the poor condition of the type specimens, some of these 

 being scant or fragmentary, and by the wide range of variation 

 in species occurring over large areas. Another circumstance which 

 leads to confusion is the interpretation, often faulty, of the lip 

 characters in species which exhibit little or no constancy in the 

 outline or measurements of this important organ. 



At the present time there are about twenty- four Spiranthes 

 which have been named as natives of the United States and Can- 

 ada, if we exclude the Floridian and Texan species of Stenor- 

 rhynchus often regarded as members of the genus. This number 

 includes several doubtful species which are poorly, if at all, repre- 

 sented in American herbaria, and which are wretchedly described 

 in literature. Although the genus may be divided into two or 

 more groups, the similarity between the species of each group is 



