S30 ORCHIDS 



British and otiier Hardy Orcliids. 



H. blephariglottis {Fob:). — From the same country as 

 H. cilia)-is, and differs from it cliiefly in havini,' wliite flowers. 

 It is a decidedly pretty plant when well grown. 



H. ciliaris {R. Br.). — This, the Yellow-Fringed Orchis of 

 North America, is described under Habeiiaria in the body of the 

 work (p. 261). 



H. fimbriata {R. £r.~). — The Purple-Fringed Orchis of North 

 America. It has a stem 2ft. high, bearing a loose head of purplish 

 flowers, each over lin. broad, with a large fan-shaped lip deeply 

 fringed about the margin. When happily treated, this species 

 produces, in June, spikes of from thirty to fifty flowers, \vhich 

 last for about three weeks. 



OPHRYS. 



There are about thirty kinds of Opiirys described, three 

 of them being natives of Britain, and familiarly known as 

 the Bee, the Spider, and the Fly Orchis. They all closely 

 resemble each other in the characters of their tubers, leaves, 

 and flower-stem, and in the form of their flowers, the only 

 marked difference being in the shape and colour of the 

 segments and lip. The tubers are ovoid ; the leaves are 

 green, oblong, acute, and arranged in a rosette about 6in. 

 across. The flower-spike varies in height from 6in. to I Bin., 

 and it bears from three to six flowers; these are about lin. 

 across, and the only conspicuous part is the lip, which is 

 usually convex, velvety, and beautifulh- coloured. The 

 resemblance of these flowers to various insects is due to the 

 arrangement of the colours of the lip, as well as its form. 

 The colours vary considerably in the different individuals 

 of the same kind, a character which led Linnaeus to belie\e 

 that all the Ophiys were probably forms of one \ery variable 

 species. 



Whilst every one of the thirt)- admitted species of 

 Ophiys is worth growing, some of them are not easily 

 accommodated in the garden, and others are difficult to 

 procure. We have selected a few of the best. 



Culture. — The most successful cultivator of these plants 

 in England was the Comte de Paris, who, at one time, 

 exhibited many beautiful specimens at the London plant 

 exhibitions. If planted in pots they should be plunged in 

 ashes or cocoa-nut fibre during the growing season. . Good 



