ORGANOTOPIC PLANTS. 
163 
in extent I counted one hundred and twenty plants in flow¬ 
er. I could have run my hand under the light leaf-mold 
and lifted the whole mass together, so slight was the con¬ 
nection between the plants and the ground beneath the lay¬ 
er of humus. Though I have visited this station sever¬ 
al times since, I have not found there a single plant. In 
the other station the plants have been very scarce until last 
season, when they were again abundant, though not as 
well developed as they were on my first visit. 
Both the habitat, or dwelling place, and the habit, or 
“look,” of these plants suggested the thought that they 
might be dependent on abnormal methods of obtaining sub¬ 
sistence, i. <?.,that they might belong to one or more of the 
groups of organotopic plants. It so happened that I re¬ 
ceived last season from botanical friends in Massachusetts 
— (to be sure, we had never met.—but then, all botanists 
are friends,)—a request to furnish fresh plants of this or¬ 
chid in flower for purposes of artistic illustration. In cor¬ 
responding about the matter I communicated my suspicions 
concerning the character of the plant and received from one 
of the friends, an expert botanist, a request for plants also 
for purposes of critical examination. On the eighteenth of 
August the station was visited and a sufficient number of 
plants collected and sent for both purposes. The examina¬ 
tion of the plants, and especially of the roots, revealed most 
interesting points with reference to the mode of life of the 
species. These points are substantially as follows. 
The plant appears to be a saprophyte, or rather, hemi- 
saprophyte. The most evident indication of this is the 
paleness of the parts which are above ground. Chloro¬ 
phyll appears to be but feebly developed. This fact alone 
indicates that the plants are more or less dependent on pre¬ 
pared food from some outside source. As there are no 
signs of the attachment of the roots to those of any other 
plant, it cannot be a parasite, and the assumption is that 
