Synonymy of some North American OrchidacecE. 307 



dred epiphytic species may sometimes be seen growing in a single 

 hot-house. The genus Orchis, as at present constituted, although 

 belonging to temperate regions and to the northern hemisphere, 

 is almost wholly confined to Europe, and is represented in North 

 America by a single species. Excepting this, all our Linnssan 

 and Willdenovian species belong to Habenaria, as characterized 

 by Brown, and to Platanthera and Peristylus of Lindley, Hav- 

 ing had occasion recently to examine the specimens upon which 

 these and other species were founded, I was surprised to find very 

 great confusion in the synonymy ; some of our commonest spe- 

 cies having, as it appears, been widely mistaken from the time of 

 Linnasus to the present day. When we consider how limited au 

 interchange of specimens took place between the earlier botanists, 

 how seldom they were able to consult each other's herbaria, 

 taking also into the account the brevity in the specific phrase en- 

 joined by the Linnsean canon, and the absence of any method of 

 distinguishing between authenticated synonyms and the more or 

 less probable ones which an author might venture to adduce, we 

 shall not wonder at the frequent occurrence of such mistakes. 



Only four North American species of Orchis are described 

 by Linnaeus, viz. O. dliaris, O.flava, O. psy codes, and O. spec- 

 tabilis. The latter is still retained in that genus. Respecting 

 the first, I have no remark to make, except that Linnseus's refer- 

 ence to Gronovius, Fl. Virg., is to be excluded, as it relates to 

 O. hlephariglottis. To this last the Platanthera holopetala of 

 Lindley is perhaps too closely allied, as I have seen apparently 

 intermediate specimens from Canada, and also in the Newfound- 

 land collection of Pylaie. Sprengel states the flowers of O. dli- 

 aris to be red. The two remaining Linnsean species require 

 more extended notice. 



Orchis flava, Linn, has remained an uncertain species quite 

 down to the present time, no succeeding author having identified 

 it. Pursh, indeed, remarks that he has seen the specimen in the 

 herbarium of Gronovius ; but he failed to recognize it as the same 

 with another species described in his work, viz. his O. fnsces- 

 cens. Nuttall has taken for it a very different species, (appar- 

 ently his own O. integra;) in which he is followed by Elliott ; 

 who states, however, that the plant differs much from the original 

 description of Gronovius. Having examined the herbarium of 

 Clayton and Gronovius's Fl. Virg., through the kind permission 



