ORCHIS TEPHROSANTHOS. NARROW-LIPPED
MILITARY ORCHIS.
ORCHIS tephrosanthos, labello tripartite), laciniis linearibus, intermedia bifida, cum mucrone interjecto,
petalis acutis conniventibus, cornu subincurvo germine duplo breviore, bracteis brevissimis.
ORCHIS tephrosanthos. Villars Delph. vol. 2. p. 32. Desf. Fl. Atl. vol. 2. p . 318. Swart»
Orchid, p. 15. TVilld. Sp. P i. vol. 4. p. 21. Pers. Syn. P i. vol. 2. p. 504. Bicheno in
Linn. Trans, vol..2. p. S3. Deslongsch. FL Gall. p. 605.
ORCHIS militaris. Smith in Engl. Bot. t. 1873. •
ORCHIS militaris s. Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1334.
ORCHIS simia. Decand. Fl. Fr. cd. 3. v. %p. 249. Fl. Gall. Syn, p. 169.
ORCHIS simiam referens. Vaill. Bot. Par. t. 31. ƒ 25, 26.
Class and Ord er. GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA.
[N atural Ord er. ORCHIDEÆ, Juss. Decand. Brown.]
Gen. Char. Corolla ringens. Labellum basi subtus calcaratum. Glandules (1—2) pedicellorum pollinis in.
clusæ cucullo ünico. Br.
Gen. Char. Corolla ringent. Labellum spurred at the* base beneath. Glands (1—2) o f the footstalks of the
pollen included in one bag. Br.
Radix, bulbi duo ovato-rotundati, pallide fusci, fibroeque
longæ, carnosæ.
Caulis vix pedalis, teres, striatus, foliosus.
Folia alterna, patentia, lanceolata, concavo-carinata,
paùlulum undulata, striata, viridia, inferne sublonge
vaginantia, superiora sensim minora bracteis
simulantia, cauli adpressa.
Bracte/e germine breviores, superiores præcipue, subu-
latas, pallidte.
Flores in spicam sublaxam ovato-rotundatam congesti,
odorati.
Perianthium sex-divisum, foliola quinque exteriora
conniventia, connata, galeam formantia, horum
tria exteriora majora ovato-lanceolata, subacuminata,
concava, albescentia, plerumque punctis
purpurascentibus adspersa, duo interiora, his
multo minora, angusta, purpurascentia ; foliolum
interius, vcl labellum, valde longum, trifidum,
basi albidum, punctis elevatis scabris intense pur-
pureis, laciniis incurvis, intense purpureis, sub
lente punctis crystallinis perpulchris, lateralibus
linearibus, intermedia bifida segmentis longe linearibus,
cum mucrone interjecto. Cornu germine
duplo brevius, subincurvum, compressum,
apice dilatatum, obtusum.
Anthera terminalis, ovata, purpurascens, bilocularis,
basi unisaçcata.
Massje Pollinis flavo-virides, pedunculatæ, basi glandu-
losoe.
Stigma concavum, viscidum.
Germen lineari-oblongum, tortuosum, sulcatum.
Variât floribus omnino albis, et monstrosis; id est, labellis
duobus oppositis horizontalibus, cornubus
duobus, foliolisque duobus solummodo lateralibus.
In hac fructificatio abortiva.
Root consisting of two roundish ovate bulbs, and pale
brown long carnose fibres.
Stem scarcely a foot high, round, striated, leafy.
L eaves alternate, patent, lanceolate, concavo-carinate,
slightly undulate, striated, green, below with rather
long sheaths, the superior leaves gradually
smaller resembling bracteas, appressed to the
Bracteas shorter than the germen, the superior ones
principally, subulate, pale.
Flowers collected into a somewhat lax oyato-roundish
spike, sweet-smelling.
Pe r ia n t h six-cleft, the five exterior leaflets connivent,
connate, resembling a helmet; of these the three
exterior are the largest, ovato-lanceolate, somewhat
acuminate, concave, whitish, generally
scattered with purplish dots, the two interior
ones smaller than these, narrow, purplish; the
interior leaflet, or labellum, is very long, trifid, the
base white, with elevated deep purple, rough
spots, the lacinise incurved, deep purple, under a
microscope having a beautiful appearance, with
crystalline points, the side ones linear, the in-
termediate one bifid with long linear segments
and a mucro between. Spur half the length of
the germen, somewhat incurved, compressed, dilated
a t the apex, obtuse.
An th e r terminal, ovate, purple, two-celled, at the base
having a little sack.
PoLLEN-Masses yellow-green, pedunculate, a t the base
glandulose.
St igma concave, viscid.
Ge rm en linear-oblong, tortuose, sulcate.
I t varies with flowers altogether white, and with monstrous
ones, having two opposite horizontal labella, two
spurs, and only two lateral leaflets. In this the
fructification is abortive.
Eg. 1 . Flower. Fig. 2. Variety with almost white helmet. Fig. 3. Variety quite white. Fig. 4. A monstrous
variety. Fig. 5. The same with the two lateral leaflets of the perianth removed. Fig. 6. Flower with the labellum
removed to show the column of fructification. Fig. 7. Labellum. Fig. 8. Extremity of a segment of
the labellum to show the structure of the surface. Fig. 9. Back of the column of fructification. Fig. 10. Pol-
leu-mass..—All more or less magnified.
The best account which we have of the three species of Orchis which have been so much confounded by authors,—
the O.fusca, militaris, and tephrosanthos,—is given in a paper by Mr. Bicheno in the 12th volume of the
Transactions o f the Linnean Society. Mr. Bicheno praises the figures of this-plant in the first and. second edition
of Gerard, p. 156’, No. 1; p. 205, No. 2 : and he says that they are thence copied into Parkinson.
Ray gives this plant as an inhabitant of the “ hills by the river Thames, near Cawsham (Caversham) bridge, a
®ue from Reading, Berkshire,” (whence our specimens were communicated by Mr. Bicheno,) and on-several other
hills on the other side of the water towards Wallingford. Mr. Graves gathered it near Dartford, Kent, in May
of th i present yei
Vaillant, in his Botanicon Parisiense, has admirably and most characteristically represented the flowers of this
« at t. 31. ƒ 25 and 26. Villars well distinguished it as a species; and Desfontaines has described it in the
rlora Atlantica with great accuracy. Jacquin seems to have confounded it with the O. militaris in his leones
I kntanmi Rariorum; at least there is a good figure of a flower of it on the same plate with that species: and
this to me appears to be the plant that is figured in English Botany (t. 1873) as the true militaris. I should speak
with certainty on this point, if Mr. Bicheno, who is so well acquainted with this tribe, had not quoted that plate as
the real militaris, which has the intermediate segment of the lip two-lobed, and in? this respect is most near to
• /«sea, not divided into two long narrow linear lacinite, the characteristic mark of O. tephrosanthos.
Ike flowers of this species exhale a most delightful fragrance, as do those of O.fusca and militaris. Their co-
°ur varies exceedingly, and they are not unl'requently found quite white. The roughness on the labellum too is a
variable circumstance, but is almost always present. „
i angular monstrosity occurred on.some of the specimens communicated by Mr. Bicheno ; some of the flowers
tw° opposite labella, two spurs, and only two ovate bad two o exterior leaflets of the perianth, as represented on the plate.