ORCHIDEjE. 197 



Orchis. L. 18. 1. Orchis. 

 Lip of the corolla with a spur on the under side at the base. 

 Its name is the Greek name of the genus without alteration ; it 

 embraced many species, but most of them have been placed 

 under the next genus. 



O. spectabilis. L. Showy Orchis. Stem 6 or 8 inches 

 high, angular, with about 2 large and radical leaves ; flowers large, 

 purple, and white, with a lip obovate and undivided, crenate ; 

 spur club-like, shorter than the ovary ; few-flowered ; shaded 

 woods ; June. 



Its short stem, large, oval, smooth, green leaves, splendid 

 flowers of delicate texture and elegant hue, and its fascicled roots, 

 call forth the admiration of children as they gather the plant. 



O. tridentata. Willd. A small, erect, and leafy plant, bear- 

 ing its small flowers somewhat in the form of a trident, so as to 

 remind one at once of its shape. In wet upland meadows, by 

 rivulets, on a sandy bottom in Berkshire County ; also near New 

 Bedford ; relatively rare ; usually placed in the following genus. 



Habenaria. Willd. 18. 1. Orchis. 



Lip spurred on the upper side at the base beneath ; corolla 

 ringent, as in the preceding. 



Named from the Latin for thong or rein, on account of the 

 form and shape of the long spur. Many species belong to North 

 America ; 12 are credited to this State. 



H. fimbriata. R. Br. Fringed Orchis, because of the nu- 

 merous fringed segments of the lip, or lower petal ; is an elegant 

 plant, a foot or more high, with broad-lanceolate leaves, bearing 

 a spike of rather dense purple flowers, everywhere arresting 

 the attention by its beauty ; wet meadows ; July. This, accord- 

 ing to Gray, should be i/. Psycodcs. Am. Journ. Sc, xxxviii. 

 310. 



H. grandiflora. Torr. Large Flowering Orchis. This spe- 



