THE ORCHID FAMILY 
spike (raceme) ; the bracts on the lower flowers are usually longer than the flower, and gradually 
become smaller towards the top of the cluster, but are always longer than the seedcase ; the lip 
(labellum) is shorter than the other perianth-lobes, which are broadly egg-shaped (ovate), and the 
terminal lobe of the lip is roundish heart-shaped (cordate) with a small point, finally recurved, in 
the centre. The stem is 1-3 feet high, stout, downy, and very leafy ; the leaves are broadly egg- 
shaped (ovate) and clasp the stem (amplexicaul) towards the base, and become narrower as they 
ascend the stem, until they pass insensibly into the bracts. (Epipactis latifolia. All ; Epipaclis 
Helleborine. Crantz.) \Plate 51. 
A variety, the Narrow-leaved Helleborine (Helleborine m6dia. E. S. Marshall), con- 
sidered by most botanists as a distinct species, is a similar plant with green flowers tinged with 
purple ; the lip (labellum) equal in length to the other lobes of the perianth, and with the terminal 
lobe triangular heart-shaped and pointed ; and the leaves longer and narrower. {Epipactis media. 
Fries.) 
Not uncommon. In woods and shady places, distributed throughout England, more rare in Scot- 
land, distributed throughout Ireland but local. August. Perennial. 
2. Purple Helleborine. (Helleborine viol&cea. Druce.) — A species very similar to 
the Broad-leaved Helleborine (Helleborine latifolia), with yellow-green flowers tinged with red ; 
the terminal lobe of the lip triangular-egg-shaped and pointed ; the stems numerous and clustered 
together ; the leaves narrower ; and the whole plant more or less tinged with purple. {Epipactis 
violacea. Boreau ; Epipactis purpurata. Sm.) 
Very rare. Woods in the south of England ; reported from Scotland and Ireland. August 
Perennial. 
3. Dark-green Helleborine. (Helleborine atrbviridis. w. R. Linton.) — A species 
in some respects intermediate between the Broad-leaved Helleborine (Helleborine latifolia) and 
the Dark-flowered Helleborine (Helleborine atrorubens). The flowers are not so rose-coloured as 
in the latter species, and the leaves are broad and rounded as in the Broad-leaved Helleborine, but 
with more numerous lance-shaped leaves on the stem. 
Rare. In woods and copses mostly on coal measures. August. Perennial. 
4. Dark-red or Oval-leaved Helleborine. (Helleborine atrortibens. Druce.) 
— A species with small flowers, varying from dark yellow to dingy red, in a loose 1 -sided cluster ; 
the lip is about the same length as the other perianth-lobes, with the terminal lobe broader than 
long, rounded, and with a short abrupt point in the middle. [As described in the genus 
Helleborine.] The stem is solitary, slender, and rather wiry, about 1 foot high, and the leaves are 
smaller than in the other species, egg-shaped (ovate), pointed, only lance-shaped high up the stem. 
{Epipactis atrorubens. Schultz ; Epipactis ovalis. Bab.) 
Rare. On limestone ledges at Settle, Yorks ; Little Doward Hill, Hertfordshire ; Orme’s Head, 
Carnarvon ; Durness, Sutherland ; and County Clare, Ireland. July. Perennial. 
5. Marsh Helleborine. (Helleborine longifblia. Allione.) — The flowers are few but 
larger than in the Broad-leaved Helleborine (Helleborine latifolia) and not i-sided ; the bracts are 
all shorter than the flowers ; the outer perianth-lobes are of a purplish-green, and lance-shaped, and 
the inner are white veined with purplish-red, the lip (labellum) being as long as the outer perianth- 
lobes, roundish and scalloped. [As described in the genus Helleborine.] The stem is 6-18 
inches high, and the leaves are narrower than in the Broad-leaved Helleborine, lance-shaped and 
pointed ; the root is creeping. {Epipactis palustris. Crantz.) 
Not uncommon. In marshes and moist places, generally distributed throughout England, rare in 
Scotland, and rare and local in Ireland. July — August. Perennial. 
