ORCHIS MASCULA WITH DOUBLE riOWERS. . 285 
the county of Clare, by F. Gr. Foot, Esq., and descriLed the changes 
which appeared to me to have taken place in the parts of the flower to 
render it double. That being the first instance on record of the species 
having been found in that state, was looked on with considerable in- 
terest by botanists. Dr. Masters, of London, again noticed the matter 
in the number of the same work for December, and P-ave further de- 
tails of the changes which took place in the parts of the flower. An- 
other interesting instance of one of our native species of Orchis has just 
been sent to me this morning from the Bridge of Allan, by Dr. Patter- 
son, one of the resident physicians there. It is an early OixJiis inascula, 
and the first time I believe it to have been ever seen with double 
flowers. Happily, the parts are so large, that the nature of the mor- 
phological changes, which have taken place, can be well studied. 
Moquin-Tandon, in his ' Elements de Teratologic,* classifies the proli- 
fications which take place in causing double flowers as median, axillary, 
and lateral: — Median^ when the centre oi the flower is changed and 
prolonged beyond its usual state, and leaving other buds, as frequently 
occurs in the Rose ; axillary^ when the prolification springs from the 
axil of one of the parts of the flower; and lateral^ when the addition is 
rather to the inflorescence than to the flower itself. The remarkable 
changes which have taken place in the flowers of this Orchis appear to 
embrace two of these terms — median and axillary. The flowers are 
reversed on the rhachis of the axis which bears them, the labellutn 
being next the apex, in place of the sepals being uppermost, which 
is the normal state of the flower. The changes of the parts are very 
curious and interesting. On the sides of the labellum are two smaller 
labella with short spurs, and in the axils of these other flowers spring, 
thus rendering the morphology axillary. These secondary florets have, 
again, rudimentary florets in the axils of their changed labella. There 
is no ovary, or column, or nectary distinct, though in some instances 
in the secondary flower they are apparently present in a very rudimen- 
tary state. The part where the column ought to he in the general 
flower is a mass of bracts and incipient florets, forming a depressed 
raceme — thus showing the prolification to be median also. The mal- 
formed parts, in the incipient flowers, do not appear to exceed the usual 
number of pieces in the regular flower of Orchis. This is supposed to 
be the second instance ^{median prolification in forming the double flower 
of an Orchis, the first being that already noticed by Dr. Masters, 
