26 GYNANDRIA— MONANDRIA. Herminium. 



Stem 1 2 or 1 5 inches high, bearing 4 or 5 spreading leaves near 

 the bottom, and 1 or 2 small, sheathing, upiight ones towards 

 the middle. Spike long, cylindrical, of numerous, rather 

 crowded, scentless powers, whose green hue, tinged more or 

 less with brown, renders them not very conspicuous. The lip 

 however is usually of a pale yellow, without any spots, though 

 occasionally tipped with brown, or dark red. Ray noticed such 

 a variety near Geneva, and in his Synopsis speaks of it as but 

 a variety. I gathered one at Valcimara among the Apennines, 

 with the lip entirely red ; see Tour on the Cont. ed. 2. v. 2. 325, 

 which is marked with no character of a distinct species. 

 Willdenow has, after Link, published an Ophrys anthropomorpha, 

 Sp. PL V. 4. 63, distinguished by the lip being only half the 

 length of the germen. Hence a specific character for our Aceras 

 is become necessary. 



413. HERMINIUM. Musk-orchis. 



Linn. Gen. Pled. 1.271. Brownin Ait. H. Kew. ed.2.v. 5. 191. 



Com^j.ed.S. 128. ed.4. 141. 

 Monorchis. Mich. Gen. 30. t. 26. 



Cal, superior, of 3 ovate, concave, equal, spreading, perma- 

 nent leaves. Pet. 2, fleshy, ovate, fiat, spreading, more 

 or less deeply three-lobed, acute, nearly as long as the 

 calyx. Nect. a lip witliout a spw\ deeply three-lobed, 

 spreading like the petals, but rather longer, slightly tu- 

 mid at the base underneath. Aiith. roundish, of 2 cells 

 close together, over the stigma, depositing the globular, 

 stalked, granulated masses of pollen, by their stalks, 

 upon 2 separate naked glands. Germen elliptic-oblong, 

 twisted, furrowed. Style short and thick. Stigma a moist 

 cavity in front. Caps, ovate-oblong, triangular, nearly 

 straight. Seeds very numerous. 



Root of two globular knobs, rather woolly; one of them 

 stalked, distant, later than the other. Stem solitary, 3 or 

 4 inches high, leafy below. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, 

 sheathed at the base. Fl. spiked, numerous, small, 

 greenish-yellow. 



This genus, happily restored by Mr. Brown, is clearly and 

 essentially marked by the petals and lip nearly resem- 

 bling each other, and being all three-lobed. Malaxis of 

 Swartz has long been separated from the original Her- 

 7ninium, with which it has little affinity, though both 

 were referjed to Ophrys by Linnaeus in his later publi- 

 cations. 



