2356 



OPHIOPOGON 



OPUNTIA 



%in. across, the tips of the segms. greenish. Cochin- 

 China. R.H. 1906, p. 371. Recent. 



WILHELM MILLER. 

 L. H. B.f 



OPHRYS (Greek, eyebrow). Orchidacese. Terrestrial 

 orchids. 



Having the habit of Goodyera, bearing a basal 

 rosette of Ivs. with an erect fl.-st. terminating in a 

 raceme or spike of fls. : sepals similar, spreading; 

 petals smaller, often pubescent; labellum generally 

 convex with incurved margins, not spurred, entire or 

 3-lobed; column short. About 30 species, mostly in 

 the North Temperate Zone in Eu., Asia and N. Afr., the 

 greater number being found in the Medit. region. 

 Cult, as for habenaria. 



A. Margin of the labellum brown or purple-brown. 



B. Labellum scarcely longer than the sepal. 



c. Sepals green. 



aranifera, Huds. SPIDER ORCHIS. Resembles 0. 

 apifera. Sepals green; petals very short; labellum dull 

 brown, marked with paler spots, obscurely lobed. 

 Spring and early summer. Eu. B.M. 5712. B.R. 1197. 



fusca, Link. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, those on the 

 st. narrower: sepals green, ovate-oblong, the upper 

 one smaller, oblong; petals half as long, lanceolate- 

 obtuse; labellum oblong, dark purple and hairy on the 

 margin, disk light blue, polished. Medit. region. B.R. 

 1071. 



cc. Sepals rose-colored or white. 



arachnites, Lam. St. erect, leafy: Ivs. ovate-lan- 

 ceolate: fls. distant; sepals ovate concave, rose-colored, 

 tinged with green; petals conical, fleshy, smaller than 

 the sepals and colored like them; labellum round, with 

 the sides reflexed, black-purple, with yellow marks and 

 green appendages. Cent. Eu. B.M. 2516. G.C. III. 

 48:482. 



apifera, Huds. (0. arachnites, Reichard). BEE 

 ORCHIS. St. 9-18 in. high, with few oblong or lanceo- 

 late Ivs. : fls. 3-6, rather large; sepals ovate, pale pink or 

 white; petals smaller, erect; labellum broad, convex, 

 lobes all turned, velvety brown, marked with paler 

 lines or spots. Fls. early summer. Dry pastures, Cent. 

 andS. Eu. Gn. 69, p. 257. G. 35:379. 



BB. Labellum longer than the sepals. 



Speculum, Link. LOOKING-GLASS ORCHIS. St. 4-12 

 in. high, 3-6-fld.: Ivs. linear-oblong: fls. J^-l in. across; 

 sepals linear-oblong, green, with purple bands; petals 

 very small, triangular-lanceolate, dark purple-brown; 

 labellum quadrate, oblong, very convex; disk shining 

 blue, with a yellow edge; margin pilose and fimbriate, 

 maroon-purple. Medit. region. B.M. 5844. B.R. 370. 



muscifera, Huds. (0. my odes, Jacq.). FLY ORCHIS. 

 St. very slender, 3-4-fld.: sepals oblong or narrowly 

 ovate, greenish; petals narrowly linear; labellum long, 

 oblong, purplish brown, with pale white or blue marks 

 in the center; central lobe notched. Spring and early 

 summer. Cent, and E. Eu. R.B. 21:241. 



AA. Margin of the labellum yellow or greenish yellow. 



tenthredinifera, Willd. SAWFLY ORCHIS. St. 6 in. 

 high: Ivs. elliptic-lanceolate: spike 3-8-fld.; fls. nearly 

 1 in. across; sepals oblong, obtuse, concave, varying 

 from rose to white; petals very small; labellum broadly 

 obcordate, greenish yellow, pubescent, with a large 

 chestnut-colored spot on the disk. Medit. region. B.R. 

 205; 1093. B.M. 1930. F. 1872, p. 128. 



Ifttea, Cav. St. 4-7 in. tall, many-fld.: Ivs. linear- 

 oblong: fls. %in. across; sepals oblong, obtuse, 

 incurved, green; petals much smaller, linear-oblong; 

 labellum quadrate, golden yellow, with a purple disk. 

 Medit. region. B.M. 5941. 



Aceras anthropophora, Br. Advertised as Ophrys anthro- 

 pophora, Linn. MAN ORCHIS. St. about 9 in. high, the spike 



UUfBUIUU Iliucil iuiigei UttUl tiic acpaia, sine iuutr lung, imnuw, UI1U 



the middle lobe split into 2 narrow lobes. Early summer. Pastures, 

 S. Eu. Ophrys differs from Aceras in having a very convex label- 

 lum. Both genera are distinguished from Orchis by the absence 

 of a spur. O. etrusca, Hort., and O. Grampinii, Hort., are hybrids 

 between O. aranifera and O. tenthredinifera. 



The name Ophrys is used by some botanists to replace Listera 

 (p. 1891); in that case, the synonymy of the listeras becomes: 



O. convallarioides, Wight (Listera convallarioides, Torr.). O. 

 cordata, Linn. (Listera cordata, R. Br.). O. Smdllii, House (Listera 

 Smallii, Wiegand). Similar to O. convallarioides: Ivs. ovate-reni- 

 form, borne at or below the middle of the st.: raceme loose, few-fld., 

 lip Kin. long, not ciliate, broadly ovate, cleft at the apex; ovary 

 glabrous. Mountains of Pa. to N. C. 



HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



OPHTHALMOBLAPTON (Greek, eye injuring, from 

 its poisonous action) . Euphorbidcese. Trees with milky 

 juice: Ivs. alternate, simple, pinnately veined: infl. 

 axillary or lateral; fls. inconspicuous, monoecious, 

 apetalous; calyx with 1-3 short lobes, valvate in the 

 bud; stamen 1; styles connate to the apex; ovary 3- 

 celled, 3-ovuled. Three Brazilian species related to 



Sapium and Stil- 

 lingia, not cult, 

 but noted for their 

 poisonous action 

 upon the skin and 

 mucous mem- 

 brane. 0. macro- 

 phyllum, Fr. 

 Allem., SAINT 

 LUCIA, is the best 

 known species. 

 J. B. S. NORTON. 



OPIUM is the 

 product otPapaver 

 somniferum, the 

 common annual 

 summer-blooming 

 poppy of gardens 

 with smooth, glau- 

 cous leaves and 

 white flowers. 



OPLISMENUS 



(Greek, awned, 

 referring to the 

 awns). Graminese. Delicate creeping, branching grasses 

 with rather broad blades and narrow panicles con- 

 sisting of spreading 1-sided racemes: spikelet 1-fld.; 

 first and second glume and often the sterile lemma 

 awned. A genus allied to Panicum, containing 5 or 6 

 species of the wanner regions, one of which is cult, in 

 conservatories for ornament. 



hirtellus, Roem. & Schult. (Panicum variegatum of 

 florists). Fig. 2595. A half -creeping perennial, with 

 small, greenish panicles, the common form with neatly 

 white- and pink-striped Ivs. W. Indies. Gn. 47, p. 68. 

 G. 37:271. Popular for edges of beds and for hanging- 

 baskets. Prop, by divisions of the rooting sts. This 

 plant has usually passed as 0. Burmannii, which, 

 however, is an annual with silky panicles. 



A. S. HITCHCOCK. 



OPORANTHUS: Sternbergia. 



OPUNTIA (old Latin name used by Pliny, later used 

 for the Indian fig, probably derived from Opus, a town 

 in Greece) . Cactacese. Succulent plants, a few species 

 of which are extensively cultivated in warm regions for 

 their large, edible fruits, while others are grown as 

 hedges; numbers of species are grown in the collec- 

 tions of fanciers for their oddity. 



Opuntias vary from small, prostrate plants a few 

 inches above the ground to trees with spreading tops 

 20 or more ft. high: sts. flat, clavate or cylindrical, 

 bearing more or less elevated areoles, from each of 



2595. Oplismenus hirtellus. 



