BUTTERFLY ORCHIS. 



Habenaria bifolin. Nat. Ord., 

 OreJtidaceee. 



OME of the species of orchis, as 

 for example the bee orchis, 

 mimic so admirably the natural 

 forms from which they derive 

 their popular names, that there 

 has been a great temptation 

 to carry this fanciful nomen- 

 clature farther than facts alto- 

 gether warrant. Of this the 

 present species may be taken, 

 we think, as a fair illustration, 

 for quaint as the flowers are, 

 it is in the last degree improb- 

 able that they would have sug- 

 gested to any one the idea of 

 a butterfly, had we not already 

 had other species named after 

 the monkey, the lizard, the spider, the bee, the fly, and 

 even man himself. 



The butterfly orchis should be sought for in moist 

 woods and copses; it may also at times be found on meadow 

 land, but then it is often so dwarfed that it is scarcely 

 recognisable as identical with the plant growing in more 

 favourable conditions. It is generally distributed over 

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