1118 OPHRYS. [CLASS XX. ORDER I. 
3. O. arinif'era, Huds. (Fig. 1339.) Earley Spider Orchis, Lip 
oblong, ovate, convex, tumid, velvety, variegated. the margin reflexed, 
three lobed, the middle lobe largest, emarginate; sepals as long as the 
lip; petals linear, smooth; cells of the pollen masses with a short 
obtuse incurved point. 
English Botany, t. 65.—English Flora, vol. iv. p. 32.—Hooker, 
British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 317.—Lindley, Synopsis, p. 262. 
P. fucifera, (Fig. 1840.) Lip entire, with a spreading wavy 
margin. 
O. aranifera, var. ?.—Hooker, British Flora, ed 4. vol. i. p. 317.— 
O. fucifera, Smith—English Botany, Supp. t. 2649.— English Flora, 
vol. iv. p. 33.—Lindley, Synopsis, p 262. 
Tubers globose, woolly. Stem erect, about a foot high, slender, of a 
somewhat glaucous green. Leaves oblong lanceolate, the two or three 
upper ones on the stem smaller, and more pointed. Inflorescence a 
terminal lax spike of from four to six flowers. Bractea large, leafy, 
lanceolate, many ribbed. Sepals oblong, three ribbed, pale green. 
Petals linear, smooth, a paler green, and rather shorter than the 
sepals. Lip oblong, ovate, convex. and somewhat tumid, the margin 
somewhat reflexed, and more or less distinctly three lobed, the middle 
one notched, and without any terminal point or gland in the 
axis, the surface is a fine velvety glossy brown, with a smooth disk, 
and two lateral lines, connected with a cross bar, but these markings 
are very irregular, seldom the same on two plants, and sometimes 
they are found without any, the lip is about as long or shorter than 
the sepals. Pouches of the pollen masses terminating in a short 
curved point. Pollen masses on long stalks. 
Habitat—Chalky and clayey pastures; not common. f. hills and 
banks in Kent. 
Perennial ; flowering in April and May. 
This and its variety are very common plants about Rome, Pisa, 
and other parts of Italy. Its smooth linear petals, and the absence of 
a terminal lobe to the lip, readily distinguish it ; but the lip varies 
greatly in being broader or narrower, more or less tumid, and in 
being distinctly lobed, or only waved on the margin. Its colour is a 
uniform brown, but the lateral lines and cross bar are often absent, 
and sometimes there is scarcely space between the bars. 
The flower delineated on the left side of our page is an interme- 
diate variety, approaching f. fucifera, in having its lip nearly entire 
on the margin, and its bars smaller. It is, however, here drawn to 
exhibit a remarkable deviation from the usual arrangement of the 
flower, in having the two pollen masses fixed in an opening upon the 
side of the lip instead of in the usual place above the stigma. They 
were fully developed, and contained pollen apparently in a perfect 
state; but how far the ovules would have attained perfection with the 
stamen in this situation, we are unable to say, as the plant was 
Mii 
