GYROSTACHYS 97 



of hairy and straight, as in the Nodding Lady's-Tresses 

 (Fig. 4), and the Hp itself is beautifully pinched and curved 

 in at the middle (Fig. 5), and very downy above; the leaves 

 that spring from the base are eight to fifteen inches long, 

 and narrow, from a two-inch blade with a long leaf stalk that 

 clasps the stem. The other stem leaves are mere bracts. 



The flowering spike is the stoutest and thickest of all 

 the American species, growing five or six inches long and 

 averaging three-quarters of an inch in thickness. The thick, 

 long bracts that grow beneath the yellowish-white flowers 

 help to lend this effect, for they project beyond them. 



The Fragrant Lady's-Tresses is not found in the North- 

 ern woods, but grows only from North Carolina to Ken- 

 tucky, Florida and Louisiana, where in September and 

 October it haunts the river banks, even growing in the 

 water. 



5. GRASS-LEAVED LADY's-TRESSES 



Gyrostachys prcecox (Walt.) Kuntze. (Plate XL.) 



A TALL, slim, downy-stemmed Lady's-Tresses with a 

 very twisted spike and long grass-like leaves, is the general 

 impression one gets on plucking the Grass-leaved Lady's- 

 Tresses. For more minute description it may be classed 

 among the very tall members, perhaps it is the tallest, for 

 although, like the Nodding and the Slender Lady's-Tresses, 

 it is generally found from one to two feet in height, yet some 

 specimens thirty inches high have been found. 



