i^H ORCHTDACE.'E. [iWl'ottia. 



pyiiform, deeply 2-lobed. Stigma whitish, with a broad nectariferous gland be- 

 neath its somewhat pointed anterior marjrin. Germen obovoid, 6 ribbed, the ribs 

 mostly purplish, often nearly glabrous. Capsules small, obovoid, soft and mem- 

 branaceous, very widely dehiscent whilst still green, crowned with the persistent 

 perianth. Seeds white, tunicate similar to those of Neottia Nidus-avis. 



VII. Neottia, Linn. Bird's-nest. 



'''' Perianth hooked ; Zip deflexed, 2-lobed, saccate at the base; 

 stigma transverse, rostellated ; rostellum flat, broad, prominent, 

 entire, without an appendage : column elongated." — Bah. Man. 



1. N. Nidus-avis, Rich. Bird's-nest. " Stem with sheathing 

 scales leafless, column without any crest, lip linear-oblong with 3 

 spreading lobes toothless at the base." — Br. Fl. p. 418. Listera, 

 Br. Fl. p. 418. Ophrys, L. : E.B. t. 48. 



Sporadical in moist shady places, woods, groves and copses, usually amongst 

 dead leaves ; not common, though pretty generally dispersed over the island. Fl. 

 May, June. Fr. June. If. 



E. Med. — Quarr copse, in a hollow (old stone-pit) to the left on entering from 

 Binstead, 1838. Woods at the Priory, occasionally, 1846. Wood near E. Cowes 

 castle, 1840. A specimen found in Hungerberry copse, 1849. In Northlands 

 copse, Yaverland, three specimens in 1848. Cothey-bottom copse, 1848. Seve- 

 ral plants in the large plantation of Scotch fir in Bordwood copse, 1845. Cleve- 

 land wood, Appuldurcombe, 1843. At Fern hill, but not seen there of late, Mrs. 

 Sanders. A specimen found in the farm at St. John's, in 1843, by Mr. Law- 

 rence, jun. 



W. Med. — Swainston woods. In the wood by Calbourne New Barn, 1842. In 

 Great Whitcomb wood, near Gatcombe, G. Kirkpatrick, Esq., from whom I had 

 the first specimens and notice of it as an Isle-of- Wight plant! 



Root a bundle of short, thick, fleshy, cylindrical or vermiform fibres. Stem 

 simple, erect, mostly solitary (sonjetimes 2), succulent, slightly angular, about 12 

 or 15 inches high, the superior portion more or less glanduloso-pilose, the inferior 

 glabrous, clothed with several alternate, brownish white, obtuse, ribbed and (espe- 

 cially the upper ones) inflated sheaths instead of leaves. Flowers pretty numerous, 

 in a long, open, cylindrical, obtuse spike, about 4 — 6 inches in length, a few of the 

 lowest remote or scattered ; rather large, of a pale dingy brown or fawn-colour all 

 over, slightly glanduloso-pilose. Bracts solitary beneath each flower, lanceulato- 

 aculBj, ribbed, the lowermost one very large. Sepals broadly ovate, subacute, con- 

 cave and connivent, obscurely single-ribbed. Petals the length of the calyx, obo- 

 vate, rounded and entire, only partly concealed by the overlapping calyx-segmenls, 

 connivent; lip very large, hollow and nectariferous within, gibbous without at the 

 base, deeply cloven at its extremity into 2 oblong spreading lobes curving out- 

 wards, their margins rounded and crenulate. Column short, cylindrical, nearly 

 horizontal ; anther fleshy, convex, obovate, sessile and incumbent on the stigma, 

 attached to the summit of the column by its broader end, its 2 cells a little diverg- 

 ing behind ; pollen-masses yellow, oblong, cloven, not elastically cohering, dis- 

 charged upon a white, fleshy, oblong, hollowed and obtuse lamina lying over the 

 much shorter truncate stigma, and of which it is called by Smith the upper lip. Cap- 

 sules whitish brown, i an inch in length, from ereclo-pateut to a little spreading, 

 oblongo-elliptical, strongly ribbed, of a stiff woody texture, their summits obliquely 

 truncate and uneven, with tubercular points, the remains of the column, &c. 

 Seeds minute, like fine sawdust, tunicated, pointed at one end, pale reddish 

 brown. 



This singular plant is readily detected at all seasons, as the dry stem and cap- 

 sules persist in the woods for one or two years after the flowers are over. The 

 flowers possess the odour of Adoxa Moschatellina mixed with that of primroses, 

 but fainter. 



