gO THE ORCHIDS OF NEW ENGLAND. 



played, one must allow. The Adder's-mouth Microstylis 

 carries its leaf near the middle of the stem, and is by this 

 feature most quickly distinguished from the other species 

 which has its leaf sheathing the base. 



It was observed by a naturalist of Ottawa, Canada, that in 

 1882, M. ophioglossoides was very common in that region, while 

 few specimens of M. monophyllos could be found. In 1883, tne 

 reverse was the case : M. mo?wphyllos was abundant, and only 

 one or two plants of the other species noted. This habit of 

 appearing and disappearing without any apparent reason is 

 another charm of the Orchis family.* 



Our rarest Orchid, if we reject the doubtful. Pogonia affinis, is 

 the Crane-fly Orchis, Tipularia discolor, which straggles across 

 the sandy woods of Massachusetts into Southern Vermont, and 

 probably into New Hampshire, and is scarce west and south as 

 well as in New England. The genus, as given in Gray, follows 

 Calypso (one would say that fancy needed to call a good many 

 intermediate forms back to life). In Tipularia the very long 

 spur is noticeable ; the column, as is not the case in Calypso, is 

 narrow and wingless ; the lid-like anther is terminal and not " be- 

 low the apex," and the " 2 waxy pollen-masses, each 2 parted " 

 are " connected by a linear stalk " instead of directly to the 

 gland of the stigma. The scape, sheathed at the base, rises like 

 that of the Aplectrum from one of several connected bulbs, 

 and as with Calypso and Aplectrum, a distinct leaf is put forth 

 in autumn. The flowers of T. discolor (" distinguished by the 

 blunt tip of its lip from a recently discovered Himalayan 

 species "), scattered down the long, angular scape, are brown- 

 ish-purple, but attract less attention than the green column, 

 which is very much exposed. The leaf is reddish-purple while 

 getting its growth, and is smoother in texture and less strongly 

 veined than that of A. hyemale, but approaches it in size. 



* The same irregularity has been noticed in the case of H. ciliaris and P. verti- 

 rillala. 



