BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
283 
CHAPTER LXXIV. 
THE ORCHIS FAMILY. (Orchide.®, Juss.) 
Character of the Order. —Perianthium superior, ringent. Se¬ 
pals three, usually coloured, of which the odd one is uppermost in con¬ 
sequence of a twisting of the ovarium. Petals three, usually coloured, 
of which two are uppermost inconsequence of a twisting of the ovarium, 
and one, called the lip, undermost ; this latter is frequently lobed, 
always of a different form from the others, and very often spurred at 
the base. Stamens three, united in a central column, the two lateral 
usually abortive, the central perfect; or the central abortive and the 
two lateral perfect; anther either persistent or deciduous, two, or four, 
or eight-celled ; pollen either powdery or cohering in definite or indefi¬ 
nite waxy masses, either adhering to a gland or loose in their cells. 
Ovarium one-celled, with three parietal placentae ; style forming part 
of the column of the stamens ; stigma a viscid space in front of the 
column, communicating directly with the ovarium by a distinct open 
canal. Capsule inferior, bursting with three valves, and three ribs. 
Seeds parietal, very numerous ; testa loose, reticulated, contracted at 
each end ; albumen none ; embryo a solid undivided fleshy mass. 
Description, &c. —The construction of the flowers of the plants belonging to this order is so curious, and, 
by the twisting of the incipient seed-vessel, the sepals and petals are often so distorted, that in the British 
species they have been fancied to represent bees, flies, lizards, monkeys, and even men. Their botanical details 
are equally remarkable ; and the pollen is generally a waxy mass, which appears to have no connection with the 
stigma. The foreign Orchidacese are still more beautiful and more remarkable than the British kinds ; and they 
are generally epiphytes hanging suspended from the branches of trees, with their roots exposed to the air. 
There are innumerable genera of these plants to be found in the dense woods of South America ; and seventeen 
genera are natives of Great Britain. All the British plants belonging to this order are in the Linnaean class 
Gynandria, signifying that the stamens grow upon the pistil; and all, except Cypripedium, are in the order 
Monandria, because the stamens form a single column. 
GENUS I. 
THE GOODYERA. (Goodyera, R. Br.) 
Lin. Syst. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 
Generic Character. —Sepals spreading, ovate, herbaceous. Petals erect ; lip saccate, entire. Column taper, distinct, with two teeth at the 
apex. Stigma prominent, roundish. ( Lindley .) 
Description, &c. —There is only one species in this genus (G. repens, R. Br.), and this plant, which 
possesses no beauty, has been successively placed in two other genera (viz., Neottia and Satyrium), before it 
was fixed in Goodyera; so named from a Mr. John Goodyer. 
GENUS II. 
LADY’S TRESSES. (Spiranthes, Rich.) 
Lin. Syst. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 
Generic Character.— Sepals coloured, and petals converging, parallel with the lip ; lip shovel-shaped, unguiculate, with two fleshy projections 
at the base. Column taper, club-shaped, distinct, with two teeth at the apex. Stigma prominent, rostrate. (Lindley.) 
Description, &c. —There are only two species in this genus, which lias been separated from Neottia on 
account of the shape of the flower-spike of S. autumnalis , which bears some resemblance to a lady s ringlet ; and 
from this spiral stem the genus is called Spiranthes. 
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