POGONIA OPHIOGLOSSOIDES. SNAKE-MOUTH. I 47 



are all distinct. There are other differences, but this one will 

 strike the most cursory observer, and is well fitted to illustrate 

 the point we wish to make, — that great apparent differences 

 are often the result of very slight causes. 



In our plant the lip is prettily bearded, and this suggested 

 the name Pogonia, pogon being Greek for " beard.'' The specific 

 name, ophioglossoidcs, is derived from the resemblance of the 

 leaves to the fronds of an Ophioglossitm, a cryptogamic genus 

 allied to the ferns. The English name " Snake-mouth " seems 

 to be adopted by a great many writers, although we never heard 

 our plant popularly thus called. One might suppose that there 

 was some resemblance to a snake's mouth in the flower, but there 

 is none, and the name is evidently suggested by the relation 

 which the specific appellation bears to a snake, Op/izog/ossum, 

 from which it is derived, meaning " serpent's tongue." 



Orchids are singularly circumscribed in their geographical 

 ranges ; but our present species, where it exists at all, is usually 

 found in great abundance. It grows generally in bogs, among 

 sphagnum and sedges, and in places so wet that those who go 

 out collecting in patent-leather shoes have generally to be satis- 

 fied with admiring from a distance. Sometimes a bog will be 

 perfectly ablaze with the bright purple blossoms, and we have 

 frequently seen this beautiful sight, especially in the State of 

 New Jersey. Our specimen was of Massachusetts growth, and 

 rather smaller than is usual in more southern locations. The 

 thready roots creep freely through the decaying moss and mud 

 among which the plant grows, and are so small that those who 

 collect for cultivation experience great difficulty in finding them. 

 For this reason, it is necessary to take them up as they arc 

 going out of flower. 



The interest hv Orchids has of late years been particularly 

 deep, on account of Mr. Darwin's papers on Orchid fertilization. 

 The flowers of the Orchids are generally so constructed as to 

 be unable to fertilize themselves, and they seem to be in a great 

 measure dependent on insects. Mr. Darwin, speaking of our 



