402 orciiidacea:. (orchis family.) 



beaked. Anther attached to the hack of the column. Pollen-masses 2, obovatc, 

 2-cleft, fixed to a common gland of the stigma, powdery. — Root composed of 

 few clustered tubers or fleshy fibres. Stem leafy at the base, sheathed above. 

 Flowers small, white, in a regular 1-sided or spirally twisted spike. 

 * Flowers on all sides of the untwisted spike. 



1. S. cernua, Richard Stem smooth below, the upper portion and thick 

 crowded spike pubescent; lowest leaves long, linear-lanceolate, the others bract- 

 Eke and sheathing ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, longer than the capsule ; 

 flowers recurved ; lip longer than the sepals, contracted above the middle, wavy 

 at the recurved obtuse apex, 2-toothed at the base. — Grassy swamps and mead- 

 ows, Florida to Mississippi, and northward. October. — Stem 6'- 12' high. 

 Leaves 4' - 8' long. Flowers yellowish-white, 3" - 4" long. 



* * Spikes twisted, bringing the flowers into a single straight or spiral row. 



2. S. brevifolia, n. sp. Stem pubescent above ; leaves all bract-like and 

 sheathing, or the lowest expanding into a short (l'-2') lanceolate or linear early 

 withering blade ; flowers all on one side of the rachis or sparingly spiral, hori- 

 zontal, pubescent ; bracts ovate, acute, scarcely longer than the ovary : sepals 

 and petals equal; lip oblong or elliptical, very entire, wavy on the margins, re- 

 curved at the acute or obtuse apex, and with two tooth-like prominences at the 

 base. — Open grassy swamps in the pine barrens, Apalachicola, Florida. Oct. 

 and Nov. — Root of 3 fleshy fibres. Stem 1° high. Flowers 10-20, 3" -4" 

 long, white. 



3. S. odorata, Nmtt. Stem stout, leafy; lower leaves oblong-lanceolate, 

 acute, the others diminishing upward and passing into the large lanceolate acu- 

 minate bracts ; spike thick, pubescent, densely flowered, spiral ; bracts much 

 longer than the ovary, the lower ones as long as the recurved flowers ; sepals 

 and petals equal; lip entire, recurved, oblong, dilated and crcnulate at the apex, 

 and with two tooth-like hooked prominences at the base. — Muddy banks of 

 rivers, near Marianna, Florida to North Carolina, and westward. October. — 

 Stem 1°- 2° high. Lowest leaves 9' -15' long, 1'- 2' wide. Flowers yellow- 

 ish-white, y long, fragrant. 



4. S. tortilis, Willd. Stem tall and slender, pubescent above ; lowest 

 leaves linear, the upper small and bract-like; spike slender, pubescent, spiral; 

 bracts ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, longer than the ovary ; lip oblong, entire, 

 recurved and crcnulate at the apex, scarcely longer than the petals, with two 

 gland-like prominences at the throat. — Low or marshy pine barrens, Florida to 

 North Carolina. May. — Stem 1° -2° high. Leaves C - 10' long. Flowers 

 3" long, white. 



5. S. gracilis, Bigelow. Stem very slender, smooth throughout, scape-like ; 

 lowest leaves (early withering) lanceolate or elliptical, spreading; spike very 

 slender; (lowers minute, on one side of the rachis or sparingly spiral, smooth; 

 bracts ovate-lanceolate, clasping, shorter than the capsule ; lip finely crcnulate 

 on the margins, recurved and acute at the apex, with two raised car-like prorai- 

 : .,t the base; anthers 4-clcft. — Damp soil, Florida, and northward. April 

 and May. — Stem sheathed, G' - 12' high. 

 1" Ion- 



