ir ORCHIDACEiE 409 



LiPARIS 



L. Loeselii (Fen Orchis). — A small orchid with green 

 flowers, found in spongy bogs in the eastern counties. 



CORALLORHIZA 



C. innata. — Brown or yellow plants without green 

 leaves. They live in leaf-mould under trees, and have 

 no true roots. The underground stem or rhizome con- 

 sists of a number of short, thick, fleshy, nearly white 

 branches, resembling a piece of coral. Ehizomes of this 

 character occur in other genera, which are denizens of 

 similar situations. They are associated with a myco- 

 rhiza (see p. 371), which plays the part of root hairs in 

 absorbing food from the humus. 



Neottia 



A genus with brown stems and flowers, scales instead 

 of leaves, and thick succulent rhizomes. The species 

 live, like Corallorhiza, under trees, and root among the 

 dead leaves. The flowers have free or half - concealed 

 honey. The apex of the root, after forming rudimentary 

 leaves, throws off the root cap and grows onwards as a 

 stem.^ 



N. Nidus-avis (Birds'-nest Orchis). — The flower agrees 

 in essential points with Listera (see below, p. 411). 



Epipactis 



We have two species — E. palustris with narrow, 

 E. latifolia with broad leaves. 



E. palustris. — The sepals are lanceolate and pale 

 greenish purple, the petals white, streaked with pink. 

 The long lip is in two parts connected by a narrow 

 hinge. In the natural position the outer part of the 

 lip partly closes the opening of the flower ; when, 

 however, an insect alights on it, it is pressed down. 



E. latifolia. — The flowers vary from green to dingy 

 purple. The free part of the lip is smaller than in the 

 preceding species, and the connecting part is broader. 



^ Irmisch, Biol. d. Orchideen, 1853. 



