318 OECHIDACEAE 



lateral sepals lanceolate 5-6 mm. long : lip 5-6 mm. long, cordate at the base, oblong, 

 crisped and drooping above the middle or recurved at the tip ; callosities nipple-like, pro- 

 jecting backward : capsules 7-8 mm. long, thick and club-shaped, curved. 

 In moist ground, New York to Florida and Louisiana. Summer. 



4. Gyrostachys laciniata Small. Nearly similar to G. praecox in habit, but more 

 slender. Leaf -blades very narrowly linear : spike many-flowered : bracts ovate-lanceolate, 

 long-acuminate, not scarious margined : lateral sepals linear-lanceolate, 6-7 mm. long, 

 acute : lip barely as long as the sepals, finely laciniate, especially along the edges near the 

 tip : capsules oval-obovoid, 6-7 mm. long. 



In sand, Eustis, Florida. Spring. 



5. Gyrostachys linearis Kydb. Boots several, coarse fibers : stems slender, 4-5 dm. 

 tall, glandular-pubescent above : leaves mainly on the lower part of the stem ; blades nar- 

 rowly linear, 5-10 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, mostly persistent : spike narrow, 4-10 cm. 

 long, 8-10 mm. thick : bracts broadly ovate, scarious-margined, abruptly narrowed into the 

 tip : perianth yellowish, about 8 mm. long : lateral sepals free, linear-lanceolate, placed 

 so as to leave a space between them and the upper one which converges with the petals : 

 lip oblong, cordate at the base, less curved than in G. praecox : capsules 5-6 mm. long. 



In meadows, New York to North Carolina. Summer. 



6. Gyrostachys xyridifolia Small. Roots tuberous, several : stems erect, 2-5 dm. 

 tall, simple, glabrous or nearly so below the inflorescence, leafy to the top : leaves mostly 

 at the base of the stem ; blades linear, attenuate from the broad sheathing bases or some- 

 times slightly dilated toward the middle, 5-10 cm. long, the largest of the lower ones 

 barely reaching the middle of the stem : spike 3-15 cm. long : bracts more or less imbri- 

 cated, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate : perianth whitish, pubescent without, 6-8 mm. long, 

 curved and slightly nodding : lateral sepals linear-lanceolate, about 5 mm. long : lip 5-6 

 mm. long, cordate at the base, with a rhombic-orbicular base and oblong much crisped 

 drooping or recurved tip ; callosities nipple-like, projecting backward : capsules 7-8 mm. 

 long, obovoid-clavate, curved. 



In moist ground. Florida and Texas. Spring. 



7. Gyrostachys brevifdlia ( Chapm. ) Kuntze. Roots often 3 together, coarse : stem- 

 slender, scape-like, 2-4 dm. tall, pubescent above, furnished with clasping scales : leafs 

 blades linear or narrowly linear-spatulate, 2-5 cm. long, early withering : spike 5-12 cm. 

 long, 1-1.5 cm. thick, flowers in 1 row, more or less spiral : perianth white, 8-12 mm. long : 

 lip ovate, 7-8 mm. long, undulate, curved at the apex, with 2 basal callosities. 



In pine-land swamps, Florida. Fall. 



8. Gyrostachys Reverch6nii Small. Roots coarse : stems 3-6 dm. tall : leaf-blades 

 various, those of the basal and lower stem-leaves linear or slightly broadened upwards, 

 those of upper stem-leaves linear, 1-2 dm. long, acute or acuminate, reduced to sheathing 

 bracts high up on the stem: spike long, about 1.5 cm. thick : bracts often as long as the 

 flowers : perianth whitish : lateral sepals free, acutish : lateral petals obtuse : lip rhombic- 

 ovate, 6 mm. long, obtuse, surpassed by the sepals and petals, slightly crisped near the 

 apex ; callosities stout, slightly curved, pubescent at the base. 



On damp prairies, Louisiana and Texas. Spring. 



9. Gyrostachys parviflora (Chapm.) Small. Roots 3-6 together, rather coarse: 

 stems 2-4 dm. tall, minutely pubescent, especially above, commonly leafy to about the 

 middle : leaf-blades linear to linear-oblong, 2-10 cm. long, acute or rather obtuse, contracted 

 above the dilated base, reduced to sjieathing scales from about the middle of the stem to the 

 inflorescence : spike 2.5-8 cm. long : bracts lanceolate, acuminate, not surpassing the 

 flowers : lateral sepals lanceolate from a somewhat dilated base, 5 mm. long, acuminate, 

 slightly undulate above : lip drooping, about 5 mm. long, oblong or nearly so, not dilated 

 at the base, slightly crisped above the middle, acutish ; callosities reflexed from the trun- 

 cate-cordate base. [Spiranthes cernua var. parviflora Chapm.] 



In rich oak woods, near Rome, Georgia. Fall. 



10. Gyrostachys cernua (L. ) Kuntze. Roots coarse, clustered : stems scape-like, 

 1-6 dm. tall, furnished with sheathing scales : leaf -blades linear or oblong, 5-30 cm. long, 

 nearly sessile or narrowed into petioles : spike 5-15 cm. long, 2-2.5 cm. thick : flowers 

 fragrant : perianth white, 8-10 mm. long : lateral sepals free : lip oblong or slightly 

 broader at the base, 7-9 mm. long, crenulate at the apex, cuneate at the base ; callosities 

 nipple-shaped, lateral on the base : capsules 6-8 mm. long. 



In meadows and swamps, Nova Scotia to Minnesota, Florida and Texas. Summer and fall. 



