XCVIII. ORCHID ACEiE 
495 
having 2 wart-like glands inside, tip minutely 2-lobed. Column 
short, winged on the sides, prolonged upwards in a beak-like 
process, the anther lying above it ; pollinia 4, in 2 pairs united at 
their base, and both attached to a viscid gland. 
Simla, on mossy banks below 5000 ft. ; July, August. — Himalaya, eastward 
to Assam and Sylhet. — China. 
6. SPIRANTHES. From the Greek speira, a spiral, and anthos, 
a flower, referring to the twisted flower spike. — Temperate and 
tropical regions ; the most widely dispersed genus in the Order. 
Spiranthes australis, Lindl. ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 102. Pubescent. 
Roots cylindrical, fleshy. Flowering-stem 6-15 in., leafy near the 
base. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 2-4 in., base sheathing. Flowers 
very small, pink, sometimes white, crowded in a spiral, slender 
spike 2-6 in. long ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, longer than the ovary. 
Sepals lanceolate, the two side ones spreading, the upper one 
combined with the petals to form a 3-lobed hood enclosing the 
column, tips recurved. Lip oblong, adnate to the foot of the 
column, base dilated, concave, having 2 small glands within, limb 
crisped along the margins, tip dilated, recurved ; spur none. 
Column short, prolonged upwards in a flat, pointed process over- 
hanging the circular, green stigma, the anther lying above it ; 
pollinia 4, united in pairs, sessile on a single, minute, linear gland 
embedded in the viscid process, the two sides of which, after the 
pollinia have been removed, remain projecting upwards. 
Simla, common on pastures ; September. — Temperate Himalaya. — China, 
Australia, New Zealand. 
A plant of the plains, ascending to 8000 ft. There are 2 or 3 British species 
called Lady’s Tresses. See Darwin, p. 106. 
7. NEOTTIA. The Greek name for a bird’s nest ; referring to 
the matted, fibrous roots. — Temperate Europe and Asia. 
Neottia listeroides, Lindl. ; FI. Br. Ind. vi. 103. Root a dense 
mass of fleshy fibres. Flowering-stem 6-15 in., brown, glabrous 
near the base, glandular-pubescent upwards. Leaves reduced to 
brown scales. Flowers small, green-brown ; bracts ovate-lanceo- 
late, as long as or longer than the ovary. Sepals free, ovate-lanceo- 
late, concave, erect at first, afterwards spreading. Petals smaller, 
free, linear, obtuse, ultimately spreading. Lip adnate to the foot of 
the column, flat, narrowly oblong, pendulous, 2-3 times as long as 
the sepals, broader towards the 2-lobed tip, mid-rib broad, dark 
green spur none. Column short, incurved, prolonged in a pointed 
process overhanging the stigma, the anther lying above it ; pollinia 
4, in 2 pairs ; in young flowers, the ends of the pollinia become 
united to a viscid drop exuded by the pointed process on being 
touched by an insect. Ovary prominently ribbed. 
Simla, in forest, growing on decaying vegetable matter ; August, September. 
— Himalaya, Kashmir to Sikkim. 
