ORCHIDACEAE 329 



lip colored like the petals, shorter than the sepals, 3-lpbed, the lateral lobes barely crisped, 

 the middle lobe suborbicular, crisped : capsules elliptic-oblong, 2-2.5 cm. long. 

 In woods, Virginia to Missouri, Florida, Texas and Mexico. Summer. 



34. BLETIA R. & P. 



Caulescent herbs, terrestrial, or inhabiting trees. Leaves few : blades elongated, firm, 

 plaited. Flowers in terminal spikes or racemes. Sepals and lateral petals similar and 

 nearly equal. Lip jointed, 5-lobed, hooded, without a spur, crested on the upper surface. 

 Column elongated, free, half-terete. Anther fleshy, lid-like. Pollen-masses 8, each pair 

 with a stalk. Capsules somewhat elongated, erect or drooping. 



1. Bletia verecunda Sw. Flowering stem lateral, 3-9 dm. tall, simple, with several 

 remote short sheathing scales, sooner or later accompanied by a leafy shoot : leaves imbri- 

 cated at the base : racemes elongated, simple : bracts very small, 1-4 mm. long : pedicels 

 longer than the bracts : perianth showy, mainly deep pink or purplish : sepals oblong to 

 oblong-ovate, 1-1. 5 cm. long : lateral petals nearly oval, about as long as the sepals, con- 

 cave, slightly wavy-margined : lip 1-1.5 cm. long, recurved, the middle lobe crisped, 

 notched, with 7-9 crests, these running as ridges to the base, the lateral lobes broad and 

 ear-like. 



In low, pine lands, peninsular Florida. Also in the West Indies. Spring to fall. 



35. TRIORCHOS Small & Nash. 



Terrestrial herbs, with the flower-stalk lateral and distinct from the leafy stem. 

 Leaves erect : blades several-ribbed, those of the flower-stalk reduced to almost bladeless 

 sheaths : raceme with narrow elongated bracts. Perianth rather inconspicuous. Sepals 

 and lateral petals oblong to elliptic, the lateral sepals slightly adnate to the foot of the 

 column, the petals somewhat smaller than the sepals, not adnate to the column-foot. Lip 

 crestless, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes widely spreading. Column with thick margins, the foot 

 concave and grooved, not dilated. Capsules erect, ribbed. 



1. Triorchos ecristatus (Fernald) Small. Tubers several together, 2-2.5 cm. in 

 diameter : leaves mainly near the base of the stem ; blades erect, nearly linear to nar- 

 rowly linear-elliptic, 2-5 dm. long, acute, strongly 3-ribbed, reduced to sheathing scales 

 above: scape solitary, slender, 4-21 dm. tall: raceme simple, 6-12 cm. long: pedicels 

 1-5 mm. long : bracts lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, the lower ones 3-5 cm. long, surpassing 

 the flowers : perianth brown : sepals oblong or nearly so, 8-10 mm. long : lateral petals 

 similar to the sepals : lip crestless, deeply 3-lobed, the middle lobe 5-6 mm. broad, sub- 

 orbicular, crenulate, the lateral lobes slightly shorter than the middle one, oblong to 

 obovate-oblong : capsules erect, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, about 2 cm. long. 



In dry pine lands, eastern and peninsular Florida. Spring and fall. 



36. PLATYPUS Small & Nash. 



Terrestrial plants, with the flower-stalk lateral and distinct from the leafy stem. 

 Leaves erect : blades flat, several-ribbed, those of the flower-stalk reduced to almost or 

 wholly bladeless sheaths. Raceme elongated, rather inconspicuously bracted. Perianth 

 relatively showy. Lateral sepals slightly broadened upward, adnate to and decurrent to 

 the base of the dilated and forked foot of the column. Lateral petals shorter than the 

 lateral sepals, only partially decurrent on the column-foot. Lip with a crest of nipple-like 

 papillae, shallowly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes directed forward. Capsules ascending or 

 spreading, ribbed. 



1. Platypus papilliferus Small & Nash. Stems 5-10 dm. tall, furnished with long 

 sheathing scales : leaves (normal) developed sooner or later in a cluster beside the stem ; 

 blades firm, nearly linear or narrowly linear-elliptic, 2-5 dm. long, acuminate, several- 

 ribbed, sheathing at the base : racemes 1-3 dm. long, loosely flowered : bracts 3-6 mm. 

 long, about as long as the pedicels at maturity : perianth rather showy : sepals oblong or 

 slightly broadened upward, acute, about 1.5 cm. long: lateral petals barely as long as the 

 sepals, but broader : lip fully 1.5 cm. long, the middle lobe reniform or orbicular-reni- 

 form, 8-10 mm. broad, crisped, not notched, with nipple-like papillae, the lateral lobes 

 rounded, with 2 crests between them : column fully as long as the lip. 



In moist soil, everglades, peninsular Florida. 



