EARLY SUMMER FLOWERS 201 



ment of one of the lowest lateral buds and the development of a 

 root-tuber on this. During the season this new tuber enlarges, 

 and is stored with food materials manufactured by the foliage- 

 leaves, and it, with the related bud, remains to carry on the growth 

 of the plant in the following spring. 



The unbranched stem bears, as mentioned above, several 

 scale-leaves at its base, and above this a number of green foliage- 

 leaves. Each leaf is distant from the preceding one by about one- 

 third of the circumference of the stem, and on passing from the 

 lowest scale-leaves, which are merely colourless sheaths, to the 

 upper foliage-leaves a gradual increase in size of the leaf-blade 

 is apparent. The sheathing base of each of the larger foliage- 

 leaves completely embraces the stem for some distance above the 

 node. The narrow leaf -blade is not flattened, but remains 

 folded at the midrib, so as to show a chanelled upper surface. 

 The colour is deep green marked with irregular blackish 

 spots on the upper surface, while below it is of a uniform paler 

 tint and shows clearly the parallel course of all the main veins. 

 The spotting of the leaf, to which the English name refers, varies 

 in degree in different specimens, and may be almost wanting. 



Above the largest foliage-leaves we find a gradual diminution 

 in size of the leaf-blade, which becomes more pointed and has 

 a shorter leaf-sheath, until we come to the bracts of the inflores- 

 cence. These are evidently reduced leaves with a small, pointed 

 leaf-blade and practically no leaf-sheath. In the axil of each 

 bract is a single flower, and, since the internodes in this region 

 are short, the shoot of the Orchid ends as a dense spike of flowers. 

 At first sight each flower appears to have a thick green stalk 

 marked by spirally running ridges, but further examination will 

 show that this is really the inferior ovary, and that the flower 

 has no stalk. 



If a fully opened flower is removed and looked at from the 

 front (Fig. 92, 3) it is at once clear that only the plane of division 

 passing from front to back would divide it into two similar halves ; 

 it is an irregular flower. Seated at the end of the stalk-like 

 ovary are six perianth-leaves, which are all delicate and petal- 

 like in texture, and of a whitish colour marked with streaks or 

 spots of lilac. The perianth-leaves form two whorls of three. 



