ROUNDLEAF ORCHIS 



Orchis rotundifolia Pursh 



The roundleaf orchis loves the wet shores of alpine lakes and 

 frequently grows in sphagnum moss along the borders of mountain 

 brooks in partially shaded, wet places. Where conditions are favorable 

 it occurs in abundance, though often overlooked by the flower lover 

 because of larger and ranker plants surrounding it. The single rounded 

 leaf is a distinguishing characteristic, and the sweet scent of the 

 flowers is so pervasive that it sometimes attracts attention before the 

 bloom is discovered. Except for a single Alaskan species, it is the only 

 American member of a group represented in Europe and Asia by 

 eighty species or more. 



The roundleaf orchis is a plant of northern range and is not known 

 to grow south of the limits reached by the ice sheets of the glacial 

 period. It must have survived close to the edge of the ice, and 

 migrated back rapidly when this retreated. Although it died out from 

 the places where it survived glaciation, it has subsequently spread 

 across the continent, from northern Maine to British Columbia and 

 northward to Greenland and Alaska. 



The specimen sketched grew at Emerald Lake, seven miles from 

 Field, British Columbia, at an altitude of 3,800 feet. 



PLATE 65 



