ORCHIDACE^ 309 



C. arietlnum, K. Br. Slender, less than 1 ft., leafy stemmed: flower 1, 

 drooping, the 3 sepals separate and very narrow and greenish, the lip some- 

 what shorter than sepals one-half in. long, red with lighter veins. Cold 

 woods. North. 



2. HABENARIA. Fringed or Ragged Orchids. 



Flowers several or numerous, in open terminal spikes, each flower in 

 the axil of a foliaceous bract: corolla white, purplish or yellow, with lip 

 variously fringed or 3-parted and cut-toothed, spur longer than lip: 1 

 anther: pollen-mass stalked, cohering. Growing, for most part, in wet 

 places, borders of ponds, etc., through eastern United States. Several 

 species, rather too critical for the beginner and therefore not described 

 here By some, the genus is broken up into several genera. 



3. Orchis. 



Very similar to Habenaria, differing in having the glands attached to 

 the pollen masses, and enclosed in a kind of pocket: the petals are arched 

 and somewhat connivent over the column. 



0. Bpectdbilis, Linn. Stem short, from 2 large and glossy root leaves, 

 and carrying 1 or 2 lanceolate bracts, with several flowers above, in a 

 raceme: lip white, spurred at base: other petals purplish-pink, arching up 

 over the flower. Woods. 



4. SPIRANTHES. Ladies' Tresses. 



Generally characterized by small flowers, whitish, yellowish or greenish- 

 white, bent horizontally and arranged in 1-3 rows spirally in a spike, 

 appearing as if twisted: stem usually bearing leaves below, or at the base: 

 lip of the little flowers not saccate but erect, oblong, recurved, channelled, 

 the base embracing the column and bearing 2 callous protuberances: anther 

 1-2 celled: 1 powdery pollen mass in each cell. Several species. 



S. cernua, Richard. Six to 20 in. high, having leafy bracts with the 

 flowers; spike dense, with flowers in 3 rows, inflorescence appearing but 

 slightly twisted: leaves lance-linear. Common in moist meadows and 

 swamps. Late summer and early autumn. 



S. gracilis, Bigelow. Spike and scape slender, with flowers in one 

 straight oi' spiral row: leaves all radical, ovate to oblong, commonly wither- 

 ing away at or before flowering. Common in dry or sandy fields, open or 

 billy woods. July to October. 



5. G00D7£:RA. Rattlesnake Plantain. 



In spike and perianth similar to Spiranthes, but without the 2 lateral 

 callous protuberances on the lip: leaves basal, tufted, thickish, petioled, 

 dark-green, usually blotched or veined with white. A few species widely 

 distributed, but not common, with handsome leaves. The genus is also 

 known as Peramium. 



