472 



ORCHIDACEAE. 





6. Gyrostachys simplex (A. Gray) 



Kuntze. Little Ladies' Tresses. 



(Fig. 1126.) 



Spiranthes simplex A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 506. 



Gyrostachys simplex Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 664. 

 1891. 



Stems very slender, s'-o/ high, with small de- 

 ciduous bracts above. Leaves basal, ovate or 

 oblong, short, abruptly narrowed into a petiole, 

 mostly disappearing at or before the flowering 

 time; spike slender, about i' long and 3" thick, 

 glabrous, little twisted; flowers white, i x/ -i}" 

 long; lip thin, striped, obovate-oblong, crisped 

 at the summit, short-clawed; callosities nipple- 

 shaped, slender; root a solitary spindle-shaped 

 tuber. 



In dry sandy soil, Massachusetts to Maryland. 

 Aug. -Sept. 



7. Gyrostachys gracilis (Bigel.) Kuntze. Slender Ladies' Tresses. 



(Fig. 1127.) 



Neottia gracilis Bigel. Fl. Bost. Ed. 2, 322. 1824. 

 Spiranthes gracilis Beck, Bot. 343. 1833. 

 Gyrostachys gracilis Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 664. 

 1891. 



Stem slender, 8'-2 high, from a cluster of 

 spindle-shaped tuberous roots, glabrous, or rarely 

 pubescent above, bearing small deciduous bracts. 

 Leaves basal, obovate, or ovate-lanceolate, peti- 

 oled, the blades X /-2/ l n g> 4 // -io // wide, mostly 

 perishing before the flowering season; spike i x - 

 3' long, 4 // -6 // thick, loose, usually much 

 twisted; flowers white, fragrant, 2 // -2> // long; 

 sepals a little longer than the lip, the lateral 

 ones free; lip about 2" long, oblong, dilated and 

 crenulate or wavy-crisped at the apex, usually 

 thick and green in the middle, white and hya- 

 line on the margins, slightly clawed at the base; 

 callosities small, nipple-shaped. 



In dry fields and open woods, Nova Scotia to 

 Minnesota, Florida, Louisiana and Kansas. As- 

 cends to 2500 ft. in North Carolina. Aug.-Oct. 



8. LISTERA R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew. Ed. 2, 5: 201. 1813. 



Small herbs, with fibrous or sometimes rather fleshy-fibrous roots, bearing a pair of op- 

 posite green leaves near the middle, and i or 2 small scales at the base of the stem. Flowers 

 in terminal racemes, spurless. Sepals and petals nearly alike, spreading or reflexed, free. 

 Anther without a lid, erect, jointed to the column. Pollinia 2, powdery, united to a minute 

 gland. Capsule ovoid or obovoid. [Name in honor of Martin Lister, 1638 (?)-i7i2, a cor- 

 respondent of Ray.] 



About 10 species, natives of the north temperate and arctic zones. Besides the following, an- 

 other occurs in northwestern North America. 



Lip broadly wedge-shaped, 2-lobed at the apex. 

 Lip narrowly linear or setaceous. 



Lip 2-cleft, twice as long as the petals. 



Lip 2-parted, 4-8 times as long as the petals. 



1. L. convallarioides. 



2. L. cordata. 

 3. L. australis. 



