ORCHIDACEiE 



in a species so clearly polymorphic. Many careful observers H. hyper- 

 have expressed the opinion that H. hyperhorea is excessively, ^^r^a 

 variable, and that it includes not only the form which is repre- 

 sented by the Linnaean type, but the variants which some bota- 

 nists have regarded as specifically distinct. 



The plant in the Linnsean herbarium is a boreal form of unusual 

 aspect. Dr. Rydberg is inclined to regard it as separable from the 

 plant which has been found so common in the northeastern part of 

 the United States and Canada, and which has been identified as 

 Habenaria hyperhorea by the majority of American botanists. 

 On the other hand Dr. Kranzlin is emphatic in his views ex- 

 pressed in his Orchidacearum Genera et Species^ where he makes 

 the synonymy of H. hyperhorea a repository for the species 

 which are regarded as distinct in most American botanical works. 

 He has been Draconian in his treatment of the species allied to 

 H. hyperhorea, and of these he has considered as variants several 

 which appear to have no close relationship with that species. 

 The contrast between the views of Kranzlin and Rydberg is so 

 radical that it induces caution in accepting their opinions. They 

 view from diametrically opposite standpoints the phenomena of 

 variation and polymorphism, and consequently they both pass to 

 extremes which are significant and at the same time instructive. 



In my studies of Hahenaria hyperhorea I have examined 

 numerous specimens both fresh and dried, and aside from obser- 

 vations made in the field I have kept many plants under culti- 

 vation, where I could examine them throughout their growing 

 season. I am convinced that it is futile to multiply the number 

 of our species by paying close attention to minor traits, such as 

 relative length of spurs and lips and comparative thickness of 

 spurs. When I examined the specimen preserved in the Lin- 

 naean herbarium I was unable to discover any constancy in the 



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