ORCHID FAMILY. Orchidacex. 



A slender species with a single obtuse 

 Orch"s W d lanceolate leaf less th an i of the \vay up 

 Habenaria t ne s tem, an d two or three tiny scalelike 



Mdentata ones above it. The insignificant very 



Greenish small greenish 5-12 white flowers with 



tiny sepals and petals, a wedge-shaped 

 lip, and a characteristic long slender spur 

 curved upward, and around to one side. The pollen- ' 

 clusters of the Habenarias are short-stemmed and ter- 

 minated with a sticky gland which is so arranged that 

 it easily fastens upon the heads or faces of visiting in- 

 sects. The plant is 6-18 inches high. Name from the 

 Latin, habena a bridle or rein, alluding to the narrow 

 lip of some species. Me., west to Minn., and south in 

 the mountains to N. Car. Found in Campton and Jaff- 

 rey, N. H., and in the White Mts. 



Habenaria in- This southern species has several leaves 

 tegra upon its slender stem, and a dense flower- 



Orange-yellow cluster, orange-yellow. 10-20 inches high. 

 Ju| y Wet pine-barrens. N. J., south. 



Habenaria ^ s another southern species, with several 



nivea very narrow leaves low on the stem, and 



White a loose many-flowered spike of small, 



July-August f ragrant) slightly greenish white flowers, 

 each with an exceedingly slender curving spur. Wet 

 pine-barrens. Del. , south to Ala. and Fla. 

 Habenaria ^ very common yellow-green-flowered 



virescens species, with a stout stem, several lance- 



Yellow-green shaped leaves, and small flowers with 

 June-July yellow-green sepals and petals, the blunt 

 lip toothed on either side and slightly protuberant in the 

 centre at the base, the slender spur twice its length. 

 10-24 inches high. Common in all wet places, from 

 Me., south, and west to Minn. 



Habenaria Characterized by the numerous bracts 



bracteata or leaflets from the bases of which the tiny 



Light green flowers spring. The lower leaves broadly 

 June-August OV ate, the upper ones mere long bracts 

 scarcely three times the length of the pale green flowers. 

 The lip of the flower toothed at the tip and oblong, twice 

 as long as the white spur. 6-20 inches high. Damp 



84 



