820 



THE ORCHID FAMILY. 



Fig. 985. 



shire downwards. Fl. spring. Among 

 the numerous varieties observed, chiefly 

 in the colour and precise form of the lip, 

 the three following, often distinguished 

 as species, have appeared in England : — 

 1. Brown O. [O. fuse a), with, dark purple, 

 rather obtuse sepals ; the lip variegated 

 with purple, its middle lobes broad and 

 short. 2. Monkey O. (0. tephrosanthos, 

 not precisely the same as the Continental 

 variety so named), with pale purple, 

 spotted flowers ; the middle lobes of the 

 lip long and narrow, like the lateral 

 ones. 3. The true military 0., inter- 

 mediate between the two others, ap- 

 proaching sometimes the one, sometimes 

 the other. 





3. Dwarf Orchis. Orchis ustulata, Linn. (Fig. 986.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 18.) 



Rather a small species, seldom above 

 6 to 8 inches high, and remarkable for 

 the dense spike of small flowers, the 

 deep purple of the unexpanded ones 

 giving it a burnt or scorched appearance. 

 Tubers entire. Leaves few, oblong or lan- 

 ceolate. Spike 1 to 2 inches long, with 

 small bracts. Sepals deep purple, pointed, 

 converging over the column and the 

 very small, narrow petals. Lip white, 

 with a few purple spots, 4-lobed, or, in 

 other words, deeply 3-lobed, with 2 

 lateral lobes and the middle one divided 

 into 2 spreading, obtuse, more or less 

 notched lobes. Spur very short. 



On dry, hilly, open pastures, in cen- 

 tral and southern Europe, extending 

 eastwards to the Caucasus, and north- 

 wards to southern Scandinavia. Occurs 

 in many parts of England, but neither 

 Fl. spring or early summer. 



Fig. 986. 

 in Scotland nor in Ireland. 



