AXD THEIR MAXAGEMENT. 529 



British and otiier Hardy Orcliids. 



light loam or leaf-mould, although it is said to grow naturally on 

 stiff clay in woods. North America, 1790. (I!. M., t. 911.) 



C. spectabile (^zc.).— Of all the hardy Cypripediums, this 

 is the handsomest and most useful. ^\'hen haj)pily situated, it 

 produces stems between ;ft. and 3ft. in height, bearing lanceolate, 

 plicate leaves about yin. long, acute-pointed and hairy. The 

 flowers are borne singly or in pairs, and are each 3in. across ; 

 septals almost round, i-r.in. long, concave ; petals ^in. wide, 2in. 

 long ; pouch almost orbicular, broadest at the base, where it 

 measures about i^,in. across ; staminode large, o\-ate, white. The 

 colour of the sepals and petals is white, of the pouch some shade 

 of rose, the best varieties being a clear red : others have wholly 

 white flowers. This grand species inhabits peat bogs in North 

 America, where it appears to be very abundant, and is known as the 

 Moccasin Flower. \Vhen planted in a moist border of deep peat, it 

 grows well and flowers annually. It also thrives when planted in 

 pots, placed in a cold, shaded frame, plunged in cocoa-nut fibre 

 or ashes, and kept moist. In iSIarch it may be taken into a 

 slightly heated greenhouse, where it will soon push into growth 

 and flower. It should never be allowed to get dry. Introduced 

 in 1731. (Figs. 177 and iSo.) 



HABENARIA. 



There are about one hundred species of this genus, but 

 very few of them are of an}' value as garden plants. Of 

 the three which are natives of this country, only one, viz., 

 //. bifolia, has an\- beaut}'. Several species from North 

 America, also, are sometimes seen in English collections, 

 but the}' are not common. The plants have two tubers, 

 leaves and habit as in Orchis, and loose-flowered spikes 

 of long-spurred, often fringed-lipped, flowers. 



Culture. — The British species requires the same treat- 

 ment as Orchis, but the American kinds must be treated 

 as bog-plants, and grown in a shaded situation in peat, 

 or peat and chopped sphagnum or leaf-mould. 



H. bifolia (R. Br.).— The British Butterfly Orchid. It grows 

 to a height of about ift., and has two or three ovate leaves; 

 from the'^centre of these springs the erect, leafy spike of white 

 flowers, each lin. across, and very fragrant. It is abundant m 

 open woods and moist meadows, which are redolent with the 

 fragrance of its flowers in June or July. 



2 M 



