859 



Dowaid, commands another enchanting view of the river scenery. 

 The rocks themselves are covered with a good sprinkling of Asple- 

 nium Ruta-muraria, not a very common habitat for this fern, more 

 usually addicted to old walls, bridges, and other more or less artificial 

 localities. Several zigzag pathways conduct down the hill ; and in 

 many parts they were completely fringed with Geranium sanguineum. 

 It was now all but past flower, but in the season must present a gor- 

 geous sight. Here and there were interspersed the pretty tassels of 

 Serratula tinctoria. About one-third down, at a point so precipitous 

 that the successive ledges of rock beside the pathway were brought 

 on a level with the eye in the descent, the youngest of the parly 

 checked his career, and drew up suddenly to a dead stand at a plant 

 which those who were in advance must just before have passed. 

 " Eureka — back again — come and see before it is plucked — Epipac- 

 tis non-scriptus /" — were the successive shouts, as the one who was 

 immediately following spied two more of the same plant on another 

 ledge among the bushes. " It must be oralis, what a glorious find !" 

 pronounced the best botanist of our party, after due examination. 

 One specimen was gathered with the root, those of the others we were 

 careful to leave uninjured, as well as two smaller plants, that did not 

 look as if they would flower this year, which were all we were able to 

 find. 



The plant is smaller, of a much less robust habit, and more grace- 

 ful, with the spike far less profusely flowered, than Epipactis latifolia. 

 The foliage is somewhat scanty, the leaves alternate, semi-amplexi- 

 caul, almost perfectly oval, exclusive of the point (which is uniformly 

 eaten off in the single specimen with me), and of nearly equal size, 

 excepting the upper one, which is attenuated to the bracteal form. 

 On comparing our specimens in the evening at home, with a dried 

 example of Epipactis ovalis, in the possession of W. H. Purchas, and 

 with the figure and description of that plant in the 'English Botany, 

 Supplement,' vol. iv. 2884, we found that though agreeing sufficiently 

 in general appearance and character, and exactly in the kind of loca- 

 lity, our plant, notwithstanding its identity in the outline of the ter- 

 minal lobe of the lip, did not possess the rugose, triangular, elevated 

 crenate space in the centre. A single flower was therefore detached, 

 and sent by post to Charles C. Babington, for his opinion, but being 

 absent from home at the time, he did not obtain it in a fresh state. 

 One of the three complete specimens was subsequently forwarded to 

 that gentleman by W. H. Purchas, who in due course received from 

 him the following obliging reply : " The Epipactis has interested me 



