438 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



Calyx, bell-shaped, 2-lipped, the upper lip with the helmet- 

 like swelling which marks this genus. Corolla, 2-lipped. 

 Blossoms, large, i inch long, in terminal, leafy panicles. Stem, 

 I to 2 feet high, generally unbranched. Whole plant soft- 

 downy. 



54 



S. pdrvula is a small species, not over 6 inches high, much 

 branched, with a tiny blue flower single in the axils of the 

 upper, sessile leaves. Some of the leaves heart-shaped, f 

 inch long. 



55. Slender Lady's Tresses 



Gyrosiachys or Spiranthes gracilis. — Family, Orchid. 

 Color, white. Leaves, near the base of the simple stem, with 

 short petioles, ovate to lance-shaped, generally perishing be- 

 fore the flowers appear. Time, August to October. 



Sepals, rather longer than the spreading, wavy, and crisp- 

 margined lip. Flowers, small, in slender, twisted spikes, fra- 

 grant. Stem, simple, from 8 to 20 inches tall, smooth, with 

 bracts below and among the flowers, from a cluster of long 

 tuberous roots. 



Nova Scotia to Florida and westward. 



56, Little Lady's Tresses 



G. simplex has a smooth and very slender low stem, from 5 

 to 9 inches tall, and a few small flowers in a terminal short 

 spike. Flowers, white. Leaves, from the base of the stem, 

 ovate, narrowed into a short petiole. Perishing before or at 

 the time of flowering. Root, a single, long, and narrow tuber. 

 Time, August and September. 



Range limited, from Massachussets to Maryland. 



57. Twisted Yellow-eyed Grass 

 Xyris torta. — Family, Yellow-eyed Grass. Color, yellow 



