704 O R C 
counfellor of the univerfity of Mofcow, in fhady woods 
about the eailern parts of the Khuban- Caucafus, but rare; 
flowers in June. See Linn, Tranf. vol. xi. 
25. Orchis cubitalis, or C-eylonefe orchis : bulbs undi¬ 
vided ; lip of the neftary trifid, filiform ; middle ovate, 
-horn fliorter than the germens. Root flefhy ; feeming to 
be obfcurely tefticulated, with capillary fibres at the bale 
of the Item. Stem a foot and a half high. Spike very 
narrow, naked, alrnoft a fpan long, with lanceolate bradtes 
between the flowers, of the fame length with them. Na¬ 
tive of the ifland of Ceylon. 
26. Orchis morio, female or meadow orchis : bulbsun- 
divided ; lip of the nectary quadrifid, crenulate ; horn 
-blunt, afcending; petals blunt, converging. Bulbs round- 
ilh, the fize of a nutmeg; one fixed to the bafe of the 
item, and the other connected to the bafe by a fibre half 
an' inch long, and the thicknefs of packthread, in the fame 
manner as in O. bifolia; above them are largilh fpreading 
fibres. Stalk from fix orfeven inches to a foot in height, 
upright and leafy. Leaves embracing, lanceolate, marked 
■with lines, glaucous, fhining on the upper fide, under¬ 
neath filvery; the bottom ones for the molt part turning 
•back, and varioufly contorted. Flowers purple, fitting 
loofely on the ftalk. This is reprefented on the preceding 
Plate, at fig. 2. 
Mr. Curtis remarks, that he has not heard of any one 
who has raifed this or any other orchis from feed, and 
that he cannot boaft of having done it himfelf; yet that 
frequent obfervation almoft confirms him in the opinion 
that they mull: be propagated from feed ; for, if this be 
not admitted, how filial 1 we account for fo many young 
plants being found together as are frequently oblerved ? 
This has been faid to be the true fort which produces 
the oriental falep ; but it is clear that more fpecies than 
one are ufed for it, becaufe fome of the roots imported in 
that drug are undivided, as in this, and others are pal- 
mated. Some of the other fpecies have larger roots than 
this; and the quality of all appears to be the fame. The 
prefent fpecies grows in meadows that are moderately dry, 
fuch as the cowllip is ufually found in ; and fometimes it 
is fo abundant as to empurple the fpot it grows on. It 
.flowers in May and June. 
27. Orchis mafcula, male or early-fpotted orchis : bulbs 
undivided; lip of the nefilary four-lobed, crenulate; horn 
blunt; dorfal petals, bent back. Bnlbs large, oval, both 
fixed to the bale of the Item, which is about a foot high, 
round, fmooth, upright, folid, above naked and purplifh, 
below clothed with furrounding leaves; thefe are lanceo¬ 
late, alternate, broadilh, the lower ones llieathing at the 
bafe, fpreading upwards, bright-green and Aiming above, 
glaucous beneath, marked longitudinally with parallel 
veins, and ufually (potted with large brown or dark-pur- 
ple lpots; the upper leaves clofely (heath the ftem, and 
are paie-green. Flowers in a loofe fpike, numerous. 
Bra6tes lanceolate, membranaceous, longer than the 
germ, (the length of the germen as Haller, (horter than 
the germen as CurtiS and Relhan, of the fame length or 
a little (horter, as Pollich affirms; according to Jacquin, 
the lowed are twice the length of the germen, anil the 
red are of an equal length with it,) pile-purple, a little 
twided at the top. Flow'ers darker or paler purple, rarely 
white: covers of the'damens dark-purple; antherae green- 
id), eladic, like the red of the fpecies. As the plant ad¬ 
vances towards maturity, the filaments in many of the 
orchifes hang out of their cafes towards the (tigma ; and, 
when they are drawn out, at the bafe of each is a fmall 
tranfparent globule, and at the top a club-ffiaped fub- 
dance, mod commonly yellow' and granulated, which 
mud be confidered as the anther; in the microfcope it 
.appears to be compofed of cubic or irr'egularly-quadran- 
gular corpufcies, united by fine eladic threads. 
According to Linnaeus, this is very clofely united to 
morio; but the dem is as tall again, the flowers more nu¬ 
merous, the two petals on the back bent backwards, and 
not at all approaching to form a helmet or hood; the 
II I s. 
middle lobe of the lip is fmalled. Mr. Curtis remarks, 
that the lpotted leaves and early bloom will in general 
be fufficient to didinguidi this fpecies. If fo, Pollich 
thud have been deceived ; for he fays that it flowers in 
June, and that his fpecimen had no (pots on the leaves. 
Retzius remarks, that this fpecies is no lefs variable 
than the preceding; the lip of the nefilary being entire, 
emarginate, and more or lefs Tour-lobed ; the horn, co¬ 
nical or cylindrical. The fpikes of thefe flowers, fays 
Lightfoot, are the long-purples, or dead men's fingers, 
which helped to compofe Ophelia’s garland : 
There with fantaflic garlands did (lie come, 
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daifies, and long-purples , 
That liberal (hepherds give a grofier name, 
But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them. 
Hamlet, act ir. 
The latter name would agree better with O. latifolia or 
maculata, which have palmated roots, divided and fpread¬ 
ing out like the fingers, whereas this fpecies has two fo¬ 
lid roundifli bulbs. We do not find the name of long- 
purples in any of our old Englifh herbals. The “ grofier 
name” is dog'sflones. 
It is a native of moft parts of F.urope, and is common in 
mod parts of England in woods and meadows ; flowering 
in April and May. The roots abound with a glutinous 
(lime, of a fweetifii tafte, and a faint fomewhat unplea- 
fant fmell. This mucilaginous or gelatinous quality of 
the orchis-root has recommended it as a demulcent; and 
it is generally ufed in the fame-complaints as the roots 
of Althaea, and gum arabic. 
Salep, which is imported from the Eaft, and was for¬ 
merly held in great eftimation, is now well known to be 
a preparation of orchis-root, as was firfl fuggefted by 
Mr.Jofeph Millar, in his Botanicon Officinale, 1722. This 
is the fpecies commonly regarded as the officinal one, and 
it has place in the materia medica of the Edinburgh Phar¬ 
macopoeia; other fpecies however are employed in mak¬ 
ing falep, and it (liould feem that they have all the fame 
quality. It is (fill much cultivated in the Ealt, and the 
root of it forms a confiderable part of the diet of the inha¬ 
bitants of Turkey, Perfia, and Syria. The falep which is 
brought from the ealtern countries, is in oval pieces, of a 
yellowifh-white colour, fomewhat clear and pellucid, very 
hard, and almoft horny, of little or no fmell, in tafte l;ke 
gum tragacanth. The people of the Eaft are extremely 
lond of falep; they look upon it as one of the greatelt 
reftoratives and provocatives to venery in the whole ve¬ 
getable world. 
That falep may be prepared from the roots of orchis 
of our own growth* M. Geoffroy 1 as proved in the fol¬ 
lowing manner. He confidered, that the method of curing 
one root in the eaftern part of the world was probably the 
fame with that ufed in all; and, obferving that Kaempfer 
liad deferibed the manner in which the Chinefe prepare 
their ginfeng, to make it pellucid, which was by firfl 
deepiiis; or macerating it in water, and afterwards care¬ 
fully (.frying it, he determined to attempt the curing of 
the roots of the common orchis in a method not unlike 
that ufed with the ginfeng, in order to make falep of it. 
He chofe the largelt, plumpeft, and faired, roots he could 
find ; thefe he nicely (kinned, taking off the whole outer 
rind; then, throwing them into cold water, he . fuffered 
them to macerate there fome time ; after this he (lightly 
boiled them; and, taking them out of the water, and 
draining them, he had them drung upon threads, to be 
dried in a warm and dry air. When the roots were tho¬ 
roughly dried, they were very tranfparent, and refembled 
pieces of gum tragacanth, and continued- dry and hard. 
The roots, thus prepared, may be kept long in a dry 
place, and will never attract humidity, or become mouldy 
and rotten ; as they will always do in wet weather, if 
dried in the common way with their (kins on. The roots 
thus prepared may be reduced to powder; this powder 
will diiiblve away in boiling water, and a fcruple of it will 
make 
