70 SPRING FLOWERS. 



scarcely half the length of the ovary. Pastures and borders 

 of woods. Fl. May. Mr. Bentham includes as varieties the 

 following forms, often regarded as distinct : 



Var. fusca : larger and stouter ; sepals dark brownish - 

 purple, variegated ; lip paler, its middle lobe broad and short. 

 Chalky bushy hills. 



Var. tephrosanthos : smaller and more slender ; sepals dark 

 purplish; lip purple, its middle lobe long and narrow. 

 Chalky hiUs. 



O. mascula : leaves elliptic-lanceolate, usually spotted with 

 purple ; flowers in a loose spike, 3-6 inches long, pinkish-pur- 

 ple varying to flesh-colour ; upper sepal arching, the lateral 

 ones spreading ; lip three-lobed with the middle lobe emargi- 

 nate; spur as long as the ovary. Pastures. Fl. April, May. 



ft Tubers palmately divided. 



O. maculata : leaves varying from nearly ovate to narrow- 

 lanceolate, often spotted ; flowers in a dense spike, 2-3 inches 

 long, pale pink; lip variously spotted with purple, broadly 

 orbicular, irregularly 3-lobed ; spur slender, shorter than the 

 ovary. Meadows and woods. Fl. May, June. 



(100) Ophrys. INSECT ORCHIS. 



O. muscifera : tuberous ; slender ; flowers few, small ; sepals 

 greenish ; lip oblong, considerably lengthened beyond the se- 

 pals, purplish-brown, with pale blue or white central marks, 

 convex, with the lateral lobes turned down, and the central 

 one deeply notched. Fly Orchis. Chalky pastures. Fl. May, 

 June. 



O. aranifera : tuberous ; flowers few, distant ; sepals green- 

 ish ; lip scarcely longer than the sepals, broad, convex, hairy, 

 dull brown, inscribed with pale-yellowish markings in the 



