POGONIA js 



leaves that stand stifHy at the summit of the stem beneath the 

 blossom; and from each other by the fact that Pogonia ver- 

 ticilljita has very long, narrow sepals, w^hile Pogonia afpnis 

 has sepals barely, if any longer than the petals. 



Pogonia verticillata (Plate XXXII.) has long, fibrous roots 

 and grows nearly a foot high. The leaves of the whorl are 

 from one to three inches long, and spring directly from the 

 stem without leaf stalks; they are obovate and abruptly 

 pointed. From their midst rises the flower stalk, erect in 

 the bud, but drooping in the flower, and longer than the 

 capsule when it is ripe. 



The sepals, mere dusky, purple straps, growing from 

 one and a half to two inches long, give the blossom a wild, 

 twisted, fantastic appearance, but they are not vivid enough 

 to make it striking, for the petals are also inconspicuous, 

 being narrow and greenish and only a quarter of the length 

 of the sepals. Some botanists have described the flower as 

 yellow with brownish sepals; but the green predominates. 



The lip (Plate XII., Fig. 2) is exquisitely modelled, with 

 a three-lobed wavy margin and upturned edges that form a 

 narrow trough leading straight to the anther cells. The 

 passage through which an insect must walk is over a long, 

 roughened, narrow crest. Perhaps he prefers f j walk up 

 one side or the other and thus crawl in obliquely and touch 

 ofi^ the spring cap of the anther cells. Whichever is the 

 insect that fertilises this rather rare and fastidious orchid, he 

 generally finds enough work to keep him busy transferring 

 the powdery pollen masses, for as a rule the plants grow in a 



