706 
O R C 
above. Flowers numerous, clofely imbricate, in a long 
ovate-cylindrical fpike ; antherae fomewhat club-fhaped, 
whitifli, germ roundifli, twilled, fmooth, variegated with 
green and brown. 
According to Dr. Withering, the Hem is from eight to 
twelve inches high; the fpike about three inches long; 
the leaves ovate-lanceolate; the corolla varying much in 
colour, of a pale rofe-red, with fometimes agreyilh call on 
the lip, and of a deeper purplifh hue on the upper petals. 
Mr. Curtis; who, with Ray, Haller, Jacquin, Vaillant, and 
others, makes this a diftinft fpecies, obi’erves, that in ex- 
pofed afpefts its ufual height is about nine inches ; in 
woods and coppices, where it is more Iheltered, and where 
the foil is richer, it will acquire the height of two feet or 
more. Such fpecimens furpafs every Britilh orchis; its 
flowers vary exceedingly in colour, fome being of a light, 
and others of a deep-purple, colour; now and then one 
wholly white occurs : the lip of the neftary varies alfo in 
breadth. Both root and flowers fend forth a ftrong fmell, 
fomewhat like, but not fo pleafant as, Anthoxanthum. 
Dr. Smith remarks, that all the varieties fmell like new 
hay. Orchis fufca is found on chalky banks, abounding 
in milkwort and juniper, near woods, and in the woods 
themfelves, in many parts of Kent, efpecially about Ro- 
chefter, near Northfleet, &c. It flowers early in May, and 
in forward feafons at the clofe of April, with early-ipot- 
ted orchis, cowfiip, and harebell. 
y, S', e. Thefe are varieties differing in colour, but 
chiefly in the greater or lefs breadth of the middle feg- 
ment of the neftary. 
30. Orchis papilionacea, or winged orchis : bulbs un¬ 
divided ; lip of the neftary undivided, crenate, eraargi- 
nate, widened; horn awi-fnaped; petals converging. 
This has the ftature of O. militaris, and almoft the fame 
flower ; but the lip is very large, the full fize of the 
thumb-nail, wider than its length, retufe or emarginate, 
undivided, toothletted, purple as the flower is. Scopoli 
fays, that thefcape is fcarcely half a foot in height; fpike 
few-flowered, (two or three,) red. Native of Spain and 
Carniola. 
( 3 . O. rubra. This beautiful plant is a variety of Lin- 
naeus’s papilionacea, with a (mailer lip. Jacquin defcribed 
his rubra from a bad drawing fent him from Rome, with 
the petals too much expanded. Dr. Smith, who makes 
this obfervation, found it flowering on the fecond of 
April, in the garden of the Villa Borghefe near Rome. 
31. Orchis pallens, or pale orchis: bulbs undivided ; 
lip of the neftary trifid, quite entire ; horn blunt, of a 
middling length ; petals fpreading. Stature of morio, ap¬ 
pearance ofJiunbucina, but the bulbs not palmate. Flow¬ 
ers yellow : lip deeper-yellow, unfpotted, trifid, quite en¬ 
tire, middle ffiorter, emarginate ; horn of a middling- 
length, fubemarginate, afcending. 
Haller obferves, that it agrees in many circumftances 
with incarnaia, which he makes the fame with fambucina; 
that the root-leaves are two inches wide ; the Item naked, 
and fcarcely a long fpan in height; and the fpike thin 
and few-flowered ; braftes yellowifli, fliorter than the ger- 
men. It finells like the urine of cats. Villars found it 
to be perfeftly like that of the frefh flowers of elder, info- 
much that he took it for the fambucina till he infpefted 
the roots. He remarks that the bulbs are round and un¬ 
equal, the leaves upright and pointed, the llem fix or 
eight inches high; fpike yellow, oblong, irregular, with 
the flowers infulated. It is nearly allied alfo to O. maf- 
cula, but the flowers are more infulated, more rounded 
at the end, and have an ill fmell, which that has not. 
Native of Swiflerland, Auftria, Dauphiny, and Italy. 
32. Orchis hifpidula,or hairy orchis: bulbs undivided; 
ll'em leaflet's ; leaf round, hifpid ; lip five-parted; feg- 
ments linear. The whole plant is hifpid, the fize of O. 
monorchis. Root-leaves two, kidney-form, embracing; 
fcape half afoot high ; fpike direfted one way, with mi¬ 
nute flowers. Native of the Cape of Good Hope, where 
it was found by Sparmann. 
H I S. 
. 53 - Orchis fpeciofa, or handfome orchis: bulbs undi¬ 
vided ; item leafy; leaves wide, ovate ; lip three-parted ; 
fegments flexuofe. Raceme large, many-fiowered ; flow- 
.ers large, pure white. _ Found at the Cape by Thunberg. 
34. Orchis plantaginea, or plantain-leaved orchis: 
bulb Angle, undivided 5 llem leafy; leaves broad-oval, 
lip three-parted ; horn twice the length of the germen. 
Bulb generally Angle, ovate, villofe, the Aze of a pigeon’s 
egg; a few fungofe villofe fibres iffue from the bale of the 
fcape, near its infertion into the top of the bulb. Leaves 
from four to -eight, radical, prefling on the ground, 
fmooth, deep-lhining green, fomewhat flefliy, many- 
nerved, about four inches long, and three brOad. Scape 
ereft, about a foot and a half high, including the flower¬ 
bearing part, about as thick as a goofe-quill, round,, 
fmooth, at every inch and half or two inches having a 
lanceolate leafy (heath. Spike four to fix inches long, 
every-where furrounded with flowers, which are folitary, 
white, and fragrant. Native of Coromandel, in moilt 
valleys among the hills ; flowering in the rainy feafon. 
III. Bulbs palmate, or divided. 
35. Orchis latifolia, broad-leaved or marfli orchis: 
bulbs fubpalmate, ftraight; horn of the neftary conical ; 
lip three-lobed, the lateral lobes bent back, braftes 
longer than the flower. Bulbs broad and flat, divided 
into a few fingers, which fometimes run out into a long 
fibre, (Iriking downwards ; feveral (hort thick fibres al/o 
(hoot out laterally from the top of the bulbs. Stem about 
a foot (or eighteen inches) high, fmooth, hollow, fome¬ 
what angular towards the top. Leaves five or fix, alter¬ 
nate, flieathing the ftem to the fpike, acutely lanceolate, 
keeled, and marked with parallel veins; pale-green, rarely 
fpotted, and, when fo, very obfcurely. Braftes muck 
longer than the flowers, refembling the uppermoft leaves, 
acufely-lanceolate, green, fometimes with a tinge of pur¬ 
ple. Flowers very numerous, (forty,) in a clofe fomewhat- 
coiiical fpike, for the mod partrofe or flefli coloured with 
us, often purple, rarely white. Petals lanceolate, the two 
outer of the upper ones reflex; the middle one and the 
two inner converging; lower lip of the neftarium ob¬ 
fcurely three-lobed, ferrate, middle lobe longed, narrow 
and fomewhat pointed, marked with dots and lines, 
forming a regular figure, following the form of the lower 
lip. Spur Jhorter than the germen, (Woodward’s MSS.) 
regularly conical, blunt, incurved; antherte roundifli, 
club-fhaped, yellowifli-green. 
There are fome variations in the fegments of the lip of 
the neftary, asobferved by Retzius in morio and mafaila; 
whence Dr. Stokes lias noticed three varieties of this orchis. 
Linnaeus diflinguifhes this fpecies from maculata, by its 
braftes being longer than the flower, the want of fpots on 
the leaves, and its hollow ftem. With us the leaves are 
feldom fpotted ; or, if at all, obfcurely; Villars fays, that 
they are frequently fpotted in Dauphiny, but lefs than in 
maculata. According to him, the fpur is longer than the 
germen, if it be obferved during the time of flowering; 
for, after that time, the germen lengthens, and the nec¬ 
tary is then the (hortelt. This obfervation of Villars 
is well founded, and has not been fuffkiently attended to. 
He remarks, that the old authors have abundance of 
figures and fynonyms of this orchis ; that Haller has col¬ 
lected a hundred of them, which is not half the number. 
It is a native of Europe in wet meadows and marflies, 
commonly with Valeriana dioica, Menyanthes trifoiiata, 
and Lychnis flos cuculi: flowering towards the end of 
May. Loureiro found it alfo in Cochin-china. It is re- 
prefented on Plate II. 
36. Orchis incarnata, or ruddy orchis : bulbs palmate ; 
horn of the neftary conical; lip obfcurely three-lobed, 
ferrate; dorfal petals reflex. This very much refembles 
the preceding; but the leaves are pale-green and unfpot¬ 
ted ; not dark-green and fpotted; the Item is fliorter by 
half; the braftes are fcarcely longer than the flower or 
germen ; the corolla is pale fleftv-coloured, not red; the 
2 two 
