681 



words used by two different authors ; first by Sir W. J. Hooker, in the 

 4lh edition of his ' British Flora,' and then by Leighton in his ' Flora 

 of Shropshire,' and again by Hooker, in the 5th edition of his Flora. 

 —Id. 



346. Notes on Epipactis latifolia, Sfc. I am sorry that I omitted, 

 in the last Phytologist, to call the attention of botanists to Epipactis 

 latifolia, and its closely allied species, or varieties, or whatever they 

 may be ; but it is not now too late to institute an enquiry, and I ear- 

 nestly hope that all botanists who have an opportunity of studying 

 the plants in a living state, will avail themselves of that opportunity, 

 and favour the public with the result of their investigations. Those 

 who have seen an extensive series of specimens of the plant known as 

 Epipactis latifolia, are well aware of the great variety of form and 

 habit which it assumes, even without including the forms of the less 

 variable but still inconstant E. purpurata : but if these are combined 

 with the plant usually known as E. latifolia and its acknowledged va- 

 rieties, the transition from the one extreme to the other becomes more 

 gradual, and the difficulty of distinguishing between the intermediate 

 forms is consequently greatly increased. Ray seems to have doubted if 

 there might not be more than one species confounded under his Hel- 

 leborine latifolia montana, since he remarks that he has observed this 

 plant to bear green flowers, but that Dr. Plot and the Oxford botanists 

 find one, the flowers of which are of a still deeper purple than those of 

 Helleborine flore atro-rubente (Smith's Epipactis latifolia fl.), adding, 

 *' whence it is either a striking variety, differing in the colour of the 

 flower, or the two plants are distinct species." Smith also says that 

 *'the reputed varieties of E, latifolia perhaps require more scientific 

 examination than they have hitherto received." In Leighton's ' Flo- 

 ra of Shropshire,' under Epipactis latifolia, Mr. Babington has given 

 the characters of two plants : — 1. E. latifolia, All. and Eng. Bot. 269, 

 the nonnal E. latifolia, with very broad leaves, and green flowers with 

 a purple lip ; and, 2. E. viridiflora, Reich.., with only the lowest leaves 

 broad, and the flowers "green, tinged with purple." The latter plant 

 is referred by Fries, as a variety, to his E. media ; with the remark that if 

 attention be paid only to the colour of the flowers, it must necessarily 

 be confounded with E. latifolia, from which it may always be known 

 by being more slender in all its parts ; the leaves are also gradually 

 nanowed to the apex, not abruptly acuminate, as in E. latifolia. Mr. 

 Babington has studied the plants referrible to E. latifolia, with great 

 care, but without being able to satisfy himself as to their identity or 

 distinctness. In his * Manual,' under E. latifolia, All.,\iG observes that 



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