Orchis Mascula. Early Spotted 



ORCHIS Linnai Gem PL Gynandria Diandria. 



Neffarium corniforme pone fiorem. 



RaiiSyn.Gen. 26. Herb^ radice bulbosa PRiEDiTiE; 

 ORCHIS mafcula bulbis indivhis, nedtarii labio quadrilobo crenulato : coriiu obtufo petalis dorfalibus 



reflexis. Lin. Syfi. Vegetab. p. 674. FL Suede, p. 319. n. 795. 

 ORCHIS radicibus fubrotundis ; petalis lateralibus reflexis ; labello trifido ; fegmento medio longiori, 



bifldo. Haller hift. n. 1283. tab. 33. 

 ORCHIS mafcula. Scopoli FL Carnlol. n. 11 lU 



ORCHIS morio mas foliis maculatis. Bauhin. pin. 81, Parhinfion. 1346. 



CYNOSORCHIS morio mas. Gerard, emac. 208. Rati Syn. p. 376. ft. 3, The Male Fool-ftones. 

 Hud/on. Fl. Angl. p. 3,33' Oeder. Fl. Dan. t. 457. Llghtfoot* Fl. Scot. p. 515. 



RADIX Bulbi duo fubrotundi, majufculi. % ROOT : two Bulbs of a roundifh form, and fome- 



| what large. 



CAULIS pedalis, erectus, teres, folidus, fuperne pur- ^ STALK a foot high, upright, round, folid, above na- 



purafcens, nudus, inferne foliis vaginantibus | ked and purplim, below cioathed with fur- 



veftitus. I rounding leaves. 



FOLIA latiufcula, maculis atropurpureis plerumque % LEAVES broadifh, moft commonly marked with dark 



inlignita, inferne carinata. | purple fpots, the midrib projecting fharply 



% on the under fide. 



SPICx^ longa, fpeciofa, laxa. | SPIKE long, fhowy, loofe. 



BRACTEtE purpurea, lanceolate, fubmembrana- | FLORAR-LEAVES purple, lanceolate, fomewhat 



ceae, genuine paulo breviores, apicibus pau- % membranous, a little fhorter than the Germen, 



lulum contortis. | the tips a little twifted. 



COROLLA: Pe tal a quinque purpurea; duo ovato- g COROLLA: five purple Petals, two of which are 



acuta, ere£ba> carinata, apicibus incurvatis, | of an oval pointed fhape, upright, with a 



tria conniventia in galeam : Labellum am- | projecting rib, the tips bending inward ; the 



plum, trilobum, medio productiore, omnibus % remaining three form the galea or helmet : 



acute crenulatis, et bafi maculatis : Faux | the Lip large* with three lobes, of which the 



alba. $ middle one is the longeft, all of them fharply 



I notched, and fpotted at the bafe : Mouth 



I white. 



Explic. Fig, | Explanation of the Figures. 



Fig. — i, Braftaea. % Fig. — 1, The Floral-leaf. 



2, 3, Petala. | 2, 3, The Petals. 



4, Labellum. * 4, The Lip. 



5, Nectarium, nat. magnit. I ' 5> The Ne & al 7 of their natural fize. 



6, Glandula ad bafin.Filamenti. | 6, The Gland at the bafe of the Filament.- 



7, Filamentum. % 7, The Filament. 



8, Anthera. | 8, The Anthera. 



9, Receptaculum glandularum Filamentorum. ^ p, The Cavity containing the Glands of the 



10, Theca Antherarum claufa, % Filaments. 



1 1 , Eadem aperta. | 1 o, The cafe containing the Anthene clofed. 



12, Anthera extenfa. % 11, The fame opened. 



13, Stigma, I 12, The Anthera ftretched out. 



14, Germen, au£t» ^ 13, The Stigma. 



t 14, The Germen, magnified. 



STUDENTS in general* find a difficulty in obtaining a clear idea of the parts of fructification in the Orchis 

 tribe. There is a peculiarity of ftructure runs through the whole of them, very different from what we meet 

 with in plants in general. 



The greater part of this genus have bulbous roots, which are yearly renewed ; fome have fibrous roots, which 

 alfo partake of the fame nature. As a proof of their being yearly renewed, we always find, when there are two 

 bulbs, that one of them is in a more withered ftate than the other ; and if we take the roots up in Autumn, we 

 find one bulb only. 



Thefe plants multiply themfelves very little. The fmall increafe they make, appears to be from off-fets. Hi- 

 therto we have no fatisfaclory proof of their being propagated from feed ; yet the feed-veffels in many of them, 

 are large, well formed, and filled with feeds ; which though extremely minute, appear perfect. 



The fmallnefs of the feed is, however, no argument againft its vegetating : fome of the Ferns, whofe feeds are 

 much fmaller, are well known to fome ingenious nurferymen near ^London, to be propagated from feed, and to 

 come up fpontaneoufly in their hot-houfes, where the original plant has fcattered its feed : and it is moft probably 

 owing to a want of minute attention, that theprogrefs of the Orchis feedlings has not yet been obferved. 



Were we however difpofed to doubt the vegetative power of thefe feeds, we might urge, that their barrennefs 

 was owing to their not being properly impregnated ; the Antherae in the Orchis tribe, appearing to be totally dif- 

 ferent in their ftructure, from thofe of plants in general ; and not containing, fo far at leaft, as I "have yet been able 

 to difcover, any fimilar pollen, or impregnating duft. 



Each flower has two ftamina, whofe ftrucTure is well deferving the attention of the curious ; each of thefe fta- 

 mina is contained within a bag or cafe, the edges of which fold over each other, and open anteriorly, as the plant 

 advances toward maturity, fig. 10, 1 1. At this period, in many of the Orchis tribe, they hang down out of their 

 cafes towards the ftigma, and are particularly vifible in the Bee Orchis, and fome others : on the flighteft pull they 

 are drawn out, and then at the bafe of each filament, we difcover a fmall tranfparent globule, fig. 6 ; and at the 

 top a club-fhaped fubftance, moft commonly of a yellow colour, and granulated furface, which mult be consider- 

 ed as the Anthera, fig. 8. On ftretching this fubftance before the view of a microfcope, it appears to be compofed 

 of a number of cubic or irregularly fquare corpufcles, united together by fine elaftic threads, fig. 12 : that thefe 

 corpufcles produce the effect of Pollen feems highly probable, though in a manner, at prefent unknown to us. 



There is no difficulty in diflinguifhing this fpecies from all our other Orchis s : its fpotted leaves and early bloom, 

 will in general be fufficient. 



The beauty of its leaves and flowers, juffly intitle it to a place in the gardens of the curious ; and in which, if 

 planted in a fhady fituation, it will readily grow. 



It flowers in April and May. 



About London it is become fomewhat fcarce ; but in the woods and meadows in moft parts of England, no plant 

 more abounds. 



Should it ever be found practicable, as well as profitable, to cultivate this genus of plants, for the purpofe of 

 making Salap, this fpecies appears as likely to anfwer as any of them. 



The extraordinary invigorating powers of the roots of thefe plants, have been handed down to us with ceremo- 

 ny, by many great names amongft antiquity : but we readily fubferibe to the opinion of MonfieurGARiDEL, who 

 in fpeaking of the Orchis, fays that great names have introduced many abfurd medicines. 



*Mefirs. Lee and Gordon. 



