HABENARIA 29 



I. LARGE ROUND-LEAVED ORCHIS 



Hahenaria orhiculata (Pursh) Torr. (Plate XIII.) 



There is perhaps no other orchid that so clearly and 

 emphatically makes its presence known in season and out 

 as the Large Round-leaved Orchis. In wandering through 

 the hemlock shades of a wooded hill, or where scant under- 

 brush in rich woods permits glimpses of the forest carpet, one 

 knows it by the two large, round, shining green leaves. 

 Whether the stout, bracted, flowering scape rises between 

 them or not, one can be sure of this orchis merely by the 

 leaves, for they are silvery beneath. Their average is four 

 to seven inches in diameter, though specimens of nine inches 

 have been reported. 



Mr. Gibson writes of it: "All orchid hunters know this 

 most exceptional example of our local flora, and the thrill 

 of delight experienced when one first encounters it in the 

 mountain wilderness is an event to date from — its two great 

 glistening fluted leaves, sometimes as large as a dinner 

 plate, spreading flat upon the mould and surmounted by the 

 slender leafless stalk with its terminal loose raceme of 

 grayish-white bloom." 



The distinctive feature of the loose raceme is that its 

 many flowers flutter ofi^ from the stem, hanging on pedicles 

 that are nearly half an inch long, and having a long spur, 

 much longer than the ovary hanging beneath the lip. 



Although this orchid is not showy, it is conspicuous, for 

 it grows from one to two feet in height, and has a sturdy, look 



