Sjpiranthes Autumnalis. 195 



SPIRANTHES AUTUMNALIS, 



Neottia Spiralis, or Ladies' Tresses. 



BY L. LANE GLAEKE. 



Scaecelt perceptible to the careless eye is tlie modest beauty 

 of this little orchid, the last of its family that will unfold for us 

 this year the " Manuscript of God" concerning the orchis tribe. 

 Deeply interested as all intelligent readers must be in 

 Darwin's delightful book, for the facts he has recorded, the 

 study of the British orchids will henceforth be an ever-recur- 

 ring recreation to the observant eye. 



First, in the early spring, the purple orchis mascula, and 

 last, in the autumn time, this little white Neottia will again 

 and again recall the wonder with which we first learnt the 

 mysterious fertilization of orchids. 



Of the three thousand species Lindley has numbered, most 

 varied and fantastic in form are the exotics ; but scarcely less 

 curious are the spider, the bee, the fly, and the butterfly 

 orchids of our own woods and meadows, and a minute examina- 

 tion of those which haunt our path will surely be acceptable to 

 the intelligent observer. 



The Spiranthes autumnalis is now abundant in dry pastures; 

 it is thickly dotted on the Malvern hills, on the light pastures 

 of the Isle of Wight, and the meadows and cliffs of the Channel 

 Islands. 



The spiral cluster of small white flowers is so insignificant 

 in appearance, that more than once I have heard the exclama- 

 tion of — " That an orchid V Even so — gather one, and come 

 and see. 



It will require a microscope to discern all its beauty ; but a 

 pocket lens will show us much, and we shall learn from this 

 one specimen what it is quite necessary thoroughly to under- 

 stand, before we can appreciate the discoveries of Darwin. 



The flower spike (fig. 1) is given natural size. The other 

 figures are all more or less magnified. 



In the single flower (fig. 2) we observe the plan upon which 

 all orchids are fashioned, the number three ruling the plant, 

 however modified by the Creator, " for whose pleasure they 

 are, and were created." Three sepals, three petals, three 

 pistils, and twice three stamens. These are not discernible at 

 first, because the large lower petal, or labellum, is so promi- 

 nent, and two upper petals are joined together, and one of the 

 sepals adheres to them so closely as to require particular 

 attention. 



