BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
287 
2.— THE EARLY PURPLE ORCHIS. (Orchis masoula, Lin.) 
Engravings.— Eng. Bot., t. 631; 2nd ed., t. 1195; and our Jig. 1, somewhat crenate ; spur obtuse. Sepals three-libbed; two lateral 
in PI. 56. ones reflexed upwards. 
Specific Character. —Knobs of the root oval. Lip four-cleft. 
Description, &c. —This is, perhaps, the most common of all the kinds of Orchis, as it is found in almost 
every part of the kingdom, even where the soil is dry, though of course the plants are much smaller in such 
places. The flowers vary from a rich deep purplish-red, through several fainter shades, to almost white, but the 
lip is always pale at the base, with purple dots ; and they are always fragrant early in the morning, and in the 
evening after sunset: they appear in May and June. All the kinds of Orchis have two tubers attached to the 
base of the stem just below the point from which the fibrous roots spring. From one of these tubers rises the 
flower-stalk of the current year ; and in the other is formed the flower of the succeeding year. When the flower 
fades, the tuber from which it sprang withers, but as a new tuber has been forming during the summer, there are 
still two left; though, as the third tuber always forms on the side opposite to the one that decayed, the plant 
advances a little every year, and in the course of a few years, it has made considerable progress. The tubers of 
the early Purple Orchis differ from those of most of the other species, except 0. inorio, in not growing close 
together, but the new tuber is attached to a kind of stalk, and is separated an inch or more from the old one. 
The tubers consist of a farinaceous or floury substance, from which saloop is manufactured'—a kind of paste 
which, when dissolved in boiling water, forms a most nutritious drink. It is said that one ounce of saloop mixed 
with two quarts of hot water will afford a day’s nourishment for a man. 
3.— THE MONKEY ORCHIS. (Orchis macra, Lindl.) 
Synonymes. —O. militaris, /3, Eng. Bot.; O. tephrosanthes, Smith. 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., 1.1873 ; 2nd ed., t. 1198 ; and our fig. 
3, in Pi. 56. 
Specific Character _Knobs of the root oval. Lip nearly hairless, 
covered with warts, with linear segments. Spur obtuse, half the length 
of the ovary. Sepals connivent, very tapering. (Lindl.) 
Description, &c. —This very curious plant is found on the chalk hills of Kent, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, 
and Oxfordshire. The lip of the flower is cut into several segments, which curl up, so as to bear no slight 
resemblance to the arms and legs of a monkey, the calyx forming the head. The species is one of the early 
kinds, and the flowers appear in May. 
4 —THE LIZARD ORCHIS. (Orchis hircina, Scop.) 
Synonyme. —Satyrium hircinum, Lin. 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 24 ; 2nd ed., t. 1199 ; and our fig. 4 
in PI. 56. 
Specific Character. —Knobs of the root globose. Lip downy, in 
three linear segments ; the middle one very long, twisted, and notched 
at the end. Sepals converging. ( Lindl.) 
Description, &c. —This is the largest of all the British species of Orchis, as it occasionally grows three 
feet high, and produces sixty or seventy flowers on a spike, flowering from May till August. It was formerly 
found growing in great abundance in thickets in the chalky soils of Kent and Surrey, but it is now rarely to 
be met there. The flower is exceedingly curious, and closely resembles a lizard. The labellum is cut into three 
lobes, the centre one, which is very long, representing the tail of the animal, the centre of the upper part, which 
is speckled, its back, and the short side lobes its fore legs; the head appearing buried in the calyx of the flower. 
The specific name of hircina, which signifies a goat, alludes to the disagreeable smell of the flower. 
