Notice of a Monstrous Flower of Orchis spedahilis. 117 



II. Notice of a Monstrous Flower of Orchis spectahilis. 



Although no doubt is at present felt with regard to the normal 

 structure of the OrchideEe, yet the instances in which this struc- 

 ture is reverted to in monstrous flowers, are interesting and wor- 

 thy, I think, of being recorded. An instance of this kind in 

 Orchis latifolia, is described by M. Achille Richard, in the " Me- 

 moires de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat.," of Paris, in which the flowers 

 were perfectly triandrous, with no trace of irregularity in any 

 part of the floral envelopes. 



I myself found a fine example in the case of a monstrous 

 flower of our beautiful Orchis spectahilis. The plant on which 

 it occurred was a very luxuriant one from the Crow's Nest, West 

 Point, supporting six or seven flowers, of which all but one had 

 the ordinary structure. That one, liowever, had three stamens 

 perfectly formed, and each presenting precisely the same appear- 

 ance as the one _ usually developed. All the other parts of the 

 flower were perfectly regular, and the ovarium had the three or- 

 dinary placentae. For a sketch of this flower see Fig. 6, Plate I. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. 



Fig. 1. Conieal terminations of ducts in ferns. The ducts terminate at each end 

 in such cones. 



Fig. 2. Cylindrical portion of a duct, showing the bars gradually diminishing to 

 points. 



Fig. 3. Prismatic portion of a duct. This form is probably caused by the pres- 

 sure of surrounding parts. 



Fig. 4. A duct of ferns torn in a spiral direction between the bars and uncoiled. 

 In this state, ducts have probably been mistaken for spiral vessels. 



Fig. 5. Two portions of the bundle of fibres in ferns, broken apart and gently 

 separated, showing several torn ducts spirally twisted, still connecting the parts. 



Fig. 6. A monstrous flower of Orchis spectahilis, showing a return to the normal 

 structure of Orchidese, having three perfect anthers, and the rest of the flower in 

 the ordinary state, a, a, a, three anthers not differing in any respect from the one 

 usually developed, and having a very dilated stigma in front of them, b, b, b, Se- 

 pals, c, c, d, Petals and lip. e, Spur. /, Ovarium. 



