274 



614. OROBANCHE. 



may fairly doubt if the character is to be trusted. 

 The segments in all the species are generally 

 more or less unequal. The number of nerves 

 is a leading character with M. Reuter ; but in 

 one of the most common species, 0. major {0. 

 . Tiaimm of some authors), botanists are not 

 agreed on this head ; and in many others it is 

 acknowledged to be obscure. StiU it is a 

 useful character, as is also the form of the 

 segments — sometimes gradually tapering, at 

 others abruptly and finely acuminate ; but 

 in this, and in most other characters, there is 

 so much variety in one species, and such a 

 gradual progression thi'ough the genus, that it 

 is with difficulty we obtain grounds for any 

 specific characters, and I have been totally 

 unable to construct an analysis of the genus. 

 The particulars on which I have attempted to 

 form my subdivisions are not those which 

 seemed to me the most likely to be constant, 

 but such as I found most generally noticed in 

 the descriptions I had before me. I have 

 chiefly followed Reuter, because no other writer 

 has above half the number of species. 



Some assistance may be obtained from the 

 .Scales and Bracts. The lower scales are, I 

 believe, always broader and closer together 

 than the upper. 



A. Bracts solitary. Capsule splitting in the 

 middle. 



i. Stamens from near base of corolla. 



a. Sepals with 5 or more nerves. 



* Style more or less glandular. 



t Filaments hairy at the base. 



1. cruenta. Sep. cloven. Cor. campanu- 

 late, evenly arched on the back, bellying in 

 fi'ont. Mouth bloody. Margin glanduloso- 

 denticulate. Upper Lip hardly vaulted ; lower 

 with 2, smooth, bladdery protuberances, mid- 

 dle lobe largest. Stigma with a yellow disc 

 and purplish-brown margin. p. 5-7. On 

 Leguminosce. m. and s. Eur. 



2. procera. Sep. broadly ovate. Cor. 

 campanulate, evenly arched on the back, belly- 

 ing in fi-ont. Margin somewhat glandular, 

 denticidate. Middle Div. of lower Lip some- 

 what the largest. Fil. with only a few hairs 

 at the base. p. 6. On Cirsium arvense. 

 Mannheim. 



3. variegata. Sep. deeply cloven, on an 

 ovate base. Segm. lanceolate, acuminate. Cor. 

 campanulate, evenly arched on the back, belly- 

 ing in front, pale yellowish, with a reddish 

 mouth. Margin denticulate. Upper Lip 

 vaulted ; lower with 2 plaited protuberances. 



Lobes small. Stamens and style hirsute. 

 Stigma yellow. Scape slender, 4 ^o 9 inches 

 high. Scales lanceolate. Bracts lanceolate, 

 equalling or exceeding flowers, p. 7. s. Er. 

 Pdm. Gen. Carr. Corsica. 



4. Spartii. Sep. equally cloven, on an 

 ovate base. Cor. campanulate, nearly straight 

 on the back, bellying in front. Margin den- 

 ticulate. Lower Lip with 2 protuberances; 

 the middle lobe largest. Style somewhat 

 villous. Stigma yellowish, afterwards brown. 

 Scape 1 to 2 feet high. Scales ovato-lanceo- 

 late. p. 5. On Spartium junceum. w. Fr. 

 Gen. Sic. Bertoloni unites this to O. cruenta. 



5. condensata. Sep. nearly touching in 

 front, broadly ovate, cloven, the front lobe ob- 

 tuse. Cor. campanulate, bellying in front, 

 evenly arched on the back. Margin denticu- 

 late. Middle Lobe of lower Lip longest. (Style 

 smooth, Bert.) Stigma thick, yellow. Stem 

 somewhat fle.ruose. Scales ovate, rather ob- 

 tuse. Bracts shorter than corolla. [Re- 

 sembles 0. cruenta, hut the lower Scales are 

 broader, the Cor. of a deeper blood-colour, 

 the Div. of the lower Lip are somewhaJ, acute, 

 and the Stamens puherulous at the base, not 

 hirsute. — Bert.) p. 5. On Genista, ^c. 

 Pi'ov. Cors. Sard. 



6. thyrsoidea. Sep. or their Segm. lan- 

 ceolato-subulate, on a broadly ovate base. Cor. 

 campanulate, yellowish. Upper Lip entire, 

 vaulted ; lobes of lower rhombeo-acuminate, 

 denticulate, or slightly and sharjDly 3-lobed, 

 finely cUiate. Stamens smooth, or somewhat 

 hahy at base. Anthers large, oblong, with a 

 long spur. Style sometimes smooth. Stigma 

 yellow. Scape and Bulbs very thick. Scape 

 hollow. Lower Scales imbricate, all approxi- 

 mate. Spike very dense, p. 6. On Genista. 

 Cors. Sard. 



7. foetida. Sep. united in front, broadly 

 ovate at base, and suddenly contracted into 

 lineari-filiform segments. Cor. campanulate, 

 somewhat arched on the back. Margin not 

 cUiate. Lobes of lower Lip ovate, somewhat 

 acute, separated by a broad sinus. Anthers 

 somewhat vdlous at the sutures. Stigma yel- 

 low. Spike dense, comose. Bracts lanceo- 

 late, acuminate, equalling or exceeding flowers ; 

 upper filiform, p. On Leguminosce. e. 

 Pyrenees. 



8. pruinosa. Sep. cloven. Segm. subu- 

 late. Cor. campanulate, slightly curved, white 

 or pinky, with bhie veins. Margin crenulate. 

 Upper Lip 2-lobed ; lobes of lower adjacent. 



