Nat. Ord. ORcniDACK^it. 



SHOWY ORCHIS. 



Orchis spectahilis. 



" Full many a irem ot purest ray serene. 

 The (lark unfathouied caves of ocean l)ear; 

 Full manv a tiouer is born to blush unseen, 

 And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 



Gray. 



^-^^^EEP hidden in the damp rccevsses of the leafy woods, 

 ^^^ many a rare and precious flower of the Orchis family 



^-'fm blooms, nourishes, and decays, unseen by human eye, un- 

 '^^^ souo-ht bv human hand, until some curious, flower-loving 



botanist phmges amid the rank, tangled vegetation, and brings 



beauties to the light. 



One of these beautiful Orchids, the Orchis spectabilis or Showy 

 Orchis, is here presented in our group. 



This pretty plant is not, indeed, of very rare occurrence: its 

 locality is rich maple and beechen woods all through Canada. 

 The colour of the flower is white, shaded, and spotted with i)ink 

 or purplish lilac; the corolla is whnt is terme<l ringent or throated, 

 the upper petals and sepals arching over the hollow lower-lipped 

 petal. The scape is smooth and fleshy, terminating in a loosely- 



T 



