ORCHIDEOUS TRIBE, 587 



into flower about the same time with the last, and re- 

 sembles it in habit. It is, however, a shorter plant, 

 and bears fewer flowers in a cluster ; it is best distin- 

 guished by .the two lateral sepals, which are strongly 

 marked with parallel green veins, and bent upwards so 

 as to form a kind of hood over the column. It grows 

 in meadows, and is often very abundant. 



Orchis pyramiddlis (Pyramidal Orchis) bears at the 

 summit of a somewhat slender stem a dense cluster, 

 broad at the base and tapering to a point, of small deep 

 rose-coloured flowers, which are remarkable for the 

 length and slenderness of the spur. It usually grows 

 on chalk or limestone, and flowers in July. 



Orchis maculdta (Spotted Orchis) may be distinguished 

 from either of the preceding by its root, which consists 

 of two flattened tubers, divided at the extremity into 

 several finger-like lobes. Its leaves are spotted like those 

 of 0. mdscula, and its flowers are light purple, curiously 

 marked with dark lines and spots. It grows abun- 

 dantly on heaths and commons, flowering in June and 

 July. 



Orchis latifolia (Marsh Orchis) is a taller plant than 

 the last, but has, like it, palmated- roots ; the leaves are 

 remarkably erect ; flowers rose-coloured or purple ; and 

 the bracts, which taper to a fine point, are longer than 

 the flowers. It grows abundantly in marshes and wet 

 pastures, and blossoms in June and July. All the above 

 species, especially 0. Morio, occasionally bear white 

 flowers. 



Gymnadenia conopsea (Sweet-scented Orchis) some- 

 what resembles Orchis maculdta ; the flowers are rose- 

 purple, but not spotted, and very fragrant ; the spur is 

 very slender, and twice as long as the ovary. It grows 

 in dry, hilly, or mountainous pastures, and flowers in 

 June and July. 



Habenaria bifolia (Butterfly Orchis) is a singular plant, 

 but not appropriately named, for the resemblance which 

 its flowers bear to a butterfly is very slight. It bears 



