4 INTRODUCTION. 



form together the column. Ordinary stamens consist 

 of a filament, or supporting thread (rarely seen in 

 British Orchids), which carries the anther ; and within 

 the anther lies the pollen or male vivifying element. 

 The anther is divided into two cells, which are very 

 distinct in most Orchids, so much so as to appear in 

 some species like two separate anthers. The pollen in 

 all common plants consists of fine granular powder: 

 but in most Orchids the grains cohere in masses, which 

 are often supported by a very curious appendage, called 

 the caudicle. This part and all the other organs will 

 hereafter be more fully described and figured under the 

 head of the first species. Orchis mascula. The pollen- 

 masses, with their caudicles and other appendages, are 

 called the polUnia. 



Orchids properly have three pistils or female organs, 

 united together, the upper and anterior surfaces of two 

 of which form the two stigmas. But the two are often 

 completely confluent, so as to appear as one. The 

 stigma is penetrated in the act of fertilisation by long 

 tubes, emitted by the pollen-grains, which carry the 

 contents of the grains down to the ovules or young 

 seeds in the ovarium. 



The upper stigma is modified into an extraordinary 

 organ, called the rostellum, which in many Orchids 

 presents no resemblance to a true stigma. When 

 mature it either includes or is altogether formed of 

 viscid matter. In many species the pollen-masses are 

 firmly attached to a portion of the exterior membrane, 

 which, when insects visit the flowers, is removed, 

 together with the pollen-masses. This removable 

 portion consists in most British Orchids merely of a 

 small piece of membrane, with a layer or ball of viscid 

 matter underneath, and I shall call it the " viscid disc;" 

 but in many exotic species the portion removed is so 



