CHAPTEK XII. 

 THE ORCHIDACEJE. 



EXERCISE LVI. 

 Characters of the Orchidacece. 



THERE is a widely-distributed and well-known 

 plant, with showy flowers, blossoming in early sum- 

 mer, and called the lady's slipper, or sometimes the 

 moccasin-flower (Fig. 332). It is an orchid ; and, 

 though unlike other orchids in some respects, it has 

 the chief traits of the order to which it belongs. 



Provide yourself with some of these plants, and 

 compare them with the following description : Herbs 

 with parallel-veined leaves and irregular flowers. 

 Perianth of six parts in two sets; the three outer 

 ones nearly alike, and petaloid in structure and ap- 

 pearance ; the three inner ones unlike. One of these, 

 differing much in shape and direction from the others, 

 is called the Up. In Fig. 332 the lip is the sac or slip- 

 per, which gives the plant its common name. The lip 

 varies much in different orchids, but in all its appear- 

 ance is singular and striking. It is seen spurred and 

 lobed, and assumes many fantastic forms. 



Examine, now, the stamens and pistil of your 

 flower. Lift up the little, drooping organ opposite 

 the lip, and compare the structure beneath with Fig. 

 333. You have here the stamens and pistil consoli- 

 dated into one organ, and known as the column. The 



