342 



HYBRID BETWEEN ORCHIS MACULATA AND 

 HABENARIA CONOPSEA IN YORKSHIRE. 



W. B. ALEXANDER, 

 York. 



On Jiilv 22nd I was gathering some spikes of Habenaria conopsea 

 when I noticed one which, in some respects, resembled Orchis 

 maculata. Both species were growing in considerable numbers 

 in a small piece of wet ground near the head of Thornton Dale, 

 about six miles from Pickering, where the novelty was obtained. 

 On closer examination I find that it is intermediate in almost 

 every respect : — 



(1) The specimen has the scent of conopsea. 



(2) The spike is more compact than in that species, but less 

 than is usual in maculata. 



(3) The colour is rosy pink, brighter than that of conopsea, 

 about the colour of the darkest type of maculata. There are 

 darker red markings on the lip, like those of maculata, but not 

 so distinct as usual in that species. 



(4) The shape of the flower is decidedly intermediate bet- 

 ween the two species, and it is slightly larger than conopsea 

 in size. The lip is more divided than in conopsea ; the wings 

 are broader, and turn more upwards than in that species, but 

 less than in maculata. The spur is almost as broad as in 

 maculata, but is nearly as long as in conopsea, and has a similar 

 curve. 



(5) The rostellum is like that of conopsea, and does not pro- 

 ject as in maculata. But the poUinia are like those of maculata, 

 and have not the strap-shaped discs of conopsea. The pollinia 

 are small and yellow compared with those of either of the 

 supposed parent species, this defect being what might be ex- 

 pected in a hybrid. 



On the other hand, the lower ovaries have already increased 

 considerably in size, looking as if they were going to seed pro- 

 perly. 



This hybrid is recorded as British in the last edition of the 

 ' London Catalogue.' It was found in 1898 by Mr. H. Pierson 

 near Sevenoaks (see 'Journal of Botany,' 1899, p. 360), and 

 on the Continent has been named by Camus Orchis Legrandiana 

 and Gymnadani a Legrandiana. — J. G. Baker. 



Naturalist, 



