20 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



in length. The leaves spring from this slender stem at 

 distant intervals, and have the curious blotching of purple 

 that may be so noticeably seen in our sketch of the plant. 

 The flowers vary in tint from pure white to pale lilac ; 

 but in gathering a bunch of them the variations of 

 colours in the various heads are often very noticeable. 

 The flowers crown the summit of the stems, and form a 

 dense and compact mass of blossoms for a distance of some 

 three inches. The lip is deeply cut into three irregular 

 lobes, and the spreading lateral sepals are also very con- 

 spicuous. Each flower has a long spur ; this is scarcely, 

 if at all, seen in the general mass of flowers, as they are 

 too compactly placed to enable one to perceive it; but it 

 may be very clearly seen in the lowest flower of all in our 

 plate, as its isolated position gives us the opportunity we 

 require. The spotted orchis varies a good deal, not only 

 in colour but in the shapes and size of the leaves, the more 

 or less conspicuous bracts, and so forth ; but the points of 

 resemblance are, after all, more than the points of divergence, 

 and there is no real difficulty in its identification. 



