THE BROAD-LEAVED HELLEBORINE— continued. 
as a post-Linnaean generic name, upon the “ British Herbal ” of the brilliant, if 
unprincipled, Sir John Hill, published in 1756. Its use in that work is, however, 
taken direct from Tournefort, and we do not consider that this work of Hill’s can be 
considered as post-Linnaean. 
Five fairly definite British species are distinguishable in this genus, although 
four of them are undoubtedly more closely related to one another than is the fifth, 
upon which ground Sir Joseph Hooker, in his “ Student’s Flora,” made only two 
species, treating the four as three sub-species of E. latifolia. 
Of these five, two seem to have been first recognised by John Goodyer. In 
Thomas Johnson’s edition of Gerard’s “ Herball ”(1 633), p- 22 7, “Palma Christi,radice 
repente, Creeping Satyrion ” is stated to grow plentifully “ in a moist meadow named 
Woodmead, neere the path leading from Petersfield,” and to have been found by 
Goodyer. This was probably Epipactis longifolia Allioni (E. palustris Crantz). On 
the following page Johnson writes : — 
“ I received out of Hampshire from my often remembered friend Master Goodyer this following description of a Nidus 
avis found by him the twenty-ninth of June, 1631. Nidus avis flore et caule violaceo purpureo-celore . . . The whole plant 
as it appeareth above grounde, both staikes, leaves, and floures, is of a violet or deep purple colour. This I found wilde in the 
border of a field ... a mile from a towne called Alton.” 
Sir J. E. Smith thought that this plant of Goodyer’s was Orobanche purpurea 
Jacquin ; but we can well understand that the late Mr. Townsend when he found 
Epipactis violacea Boreau, on Selborne Hanger, in 1873, recognised, as we did on 
seeing it there in 1901, that this was undoubtedly Goodyer’s “ Nidus avis.” The 
whole plant is as violet as Neottia Nidus-avis is brown, so that it has a strikingly 
distinct appearance. 
The three remaining species are more closely similar. E. atro-rubens J. A. 
Schultes, a rare form, flowering in July, on certain limestone cliffs, has ovate leaves 
and flowers varying from a dark yellow to a blackish red. E. media Fries has long 
and narrow leaves and green flowers tinged with purple. E. latifolia Allioni has 
broad, ovate, strongly-ribbed leaves and flowers of much the same colouring as those 
of E. media , but with a small recurved point to its labellum. The terminal 
portion of the labellum moves as on a hinge, so that its rebound throws the 
wasps (which, according to Darwin, are the only insect-visitors) upwards against the 
rostellum. This at once becomes very viscid and cements the pollen to the insect. 
The genus differs from Cephalanthera in having stalked flowers, the pedicel being 
twisted, whilst the downy ovary is straight. 
Darwin describes E. latifolia as one of the most abundant species of Orchids in 
the chalky upland woods of North Kent. 
