OUR WILD ORCHIDS 93 



own county, contains but three species, have now passed entirely out of use. It 



one of which, the rare Musk Orchis, is almost certain that these were the 



grew at Black Notley, where he lived, flowers meant by Shakespeare, under 



" on the greens of a field belonging to the names " Long Purples " and 



the hall called Wair-field." Later on, " Dead Men's Fingers," as forming 



in the middle of the eighteenth century, part of Ophelia's nosegay- 



in his list of "the more rare plants" " There with fantastic garlands did she come, 



to be found at Selborne, Gilbert White Of Crow-flowers, Nettles, Daisies, and Long 



Purples, 



mentions only three species out of the Jhat ^^ shepherds g . ye a grosser name> 



sixteen or seventeen now growing in But our cold maids do Dead Men's Fingers 



that historic parish. cal1 them '" 



The earliest of the orchids to flower Other species of Orchis besides the 



are the well-known Early Purple Orchis Early Purple will be found in many 



(Orchis mascula), so common in our of our woods in June. The Twayblade 



woods when the bluebells are in (Listera ovata) appears to grow in all 



blossom, and the Green- winged Meadow parts of England, and is, as Darwin 



Orchis (0. Morio), at once distin- has pointed out, one of the most re- 



guished by the sepals which form as markable species in the whole Order, 



it were a hood or helmet and are It is easily recognized by its two large 



marked with distinct green veins. These oval leaves and long slender spike of 



plants are generally distributed, and green flowers, " each little floure," 



are sometimes, the latter especially, says old Gerarde, " resembling a gnat 



very abundant, so much so as to make or little gosling newly hatched." More 



a conspicuous feature in the vegeta- generally its flowers are " likened unto 



tion ; and yet, strange to say, they little men," and mistakes have often 



now appear to have no common English been made by unscientific persons in 



name among our country people. They recording this plant as the Man-Orchis, 



are usually spoken of as '"orchises," In company with the Twayblade and 



and no distinction is made between blooming at the same time, the Spotted 



them. In olden times the names, on Orchis (0. maculata) is often seen in 



the contrary, were so numerous that, abundance, and in many parts the 



says old Nicholas Culpeper, " they beautiful Butterfly Orchis is not un- 



would almost fill a sheet of paper, and common. In some of our beech-woods, 



are too tedious to rehearse ; " but they especially on the chalk, the stately 



