258 
May  19  and  July  19.  Still  one  of  the  very  rare  hybrids ; 
one  or  two  other  plants  of  it  having  been  found  by  the 
Rev.  E.  S.  Marshall. — E.  F.  Linton. 
S.  repens  x  viminalis  (No.  280).  Made  and  grown  at 
Edmondsham,  Dorset.  Male,  early  April;  female,  early 
May;  foliage,  July  24  and  25,  1909. — E.  F.  Linton. 
Helleborine  violacea  Druce.  Reigate  Hill,  Surrey, 
v.c.  17,  Sept.  9,  1909. — R.  S.  Standen.  I  doubt  the 
identity  of  this  well-known  Reigate  Helleborine  with  if. 
purpurata  Druce  ( Epipactis  purpurata  Sm.),  which  appears 
to  be  the  same  as  E.  violacea.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
agrees  exactly  with  the  fine  plate  of  E.  sessilifolia  Peterm. 
in  M.  Schulze’s  “  Die  Orchidaceen  Deutschlands,  Deutsch- 
Oesterreichs  und  der  Schweiz,”  t.  54.  Syme  (“  English 
Botany,”  ed.  3,  p.  124)  remarks  : — “  The  Reigate  and 
Claygate  plants  are  the  only  ones  [i.e.  of  E.  media ,  var. 
ft.  purpurata ]  I  have  seen  in  a  living  state.  These  are 
not  at  all  tinged  with  purple,  and  have  the  labellum 
sometimes  as  long  as  the  calyx-segments,  but  usually  a 
little  shorter.”  I  believe  that  two  distinct  species  have 
long  been  confounded  by  British  botanists  (and  others) 
under  the  name  of  E.  purpurata  or  E.  violacea.  Several 
years  ago  Mr.  F.  Townsend  wrote  to  me  that  E.  sessilifolia 
Peterm.  was  different  from  our  E.  violacea. — E.  S.  M.  I 
was  with  Mr.  Standen  when  he  collected  this  and  recollect 
that  most  of  the  specimens  had  leaves  and  stems  tinged 
with  purple  (which  may  be  lost  in  drying).  This  matter 
of  colouring,  however,  is  not  I  believe  a  stable  character, 
as  I  have  seen  Reigate  Hill  examples  both  bright  purple 
(almost  violet)  and  truly  green.  The  purple  colour  is 
usually  more  evident  in  the  young  plants.  I  cannot 
understand  Syme’s  description  “  labellum  sometimes  as 
long  as  the  calyx-segments,  but  usually  a  little  shorter.” 
On  Mr.  Standen’s  examples  the  labellum  was  about  6  mm. 
broad  and  4J-  mm.  long,  with  the  basal  bosses  pink  and 
strongly  marked.  I  do  not  know  E.  sessilifolia  Peterm. 
— C.E.S. 
H.  violacea  Druce.  Scrubwood,  Ellesborough,  Bucks., 
v.c.  24,  Aug.  22,  1909. — F.  L.  Foord-Kelcey.  Yes  ;  the 
purple  colour  of  the  foliage  is  still  evident  in  my  dried 
specimen.  Mr.  Druce  has  lately  shown  that  this  species  is 
Epipactis  purpurata  Sm.  ( Helleborine  purpurata  Druce). 
