EPIPACTIS LATIFOLIA. BROAD-LEAVED
EPIPACTIS OR HELLEBORINE.
E P IPA C T IS latifolia; foliis ovatis amplexicaulibus; bmcteis inferioribus flore longioribus, floribus pen-
dulis, labello integerrimo acuminate petalis breviore, germinibus pubescentibus. Willd.
E P IPA C T IS latifolia. Swartz de Orchid, p. 64. TVilld.Sp. PI. •c .i.p . 83. Aiton H ort. Kent, ed.%
ml. 5. p . 201. -Decand. Fl. F r. cd. 3. nol. 3. p. 259. FI. Gall. Spn. p. 172. Richard
in M em. du Museum, vol. 4. p. 66.
E P IPA C T IS foliis amplexicaulibus ovato-lanceolatis, labello lanceolato. Hall. Helv. n. 1297. t. 40.
SERAPIAS latifolia. Linn. Syst. Feget, cd. 14. p. 814. (fide Smith;. With. Bot. A r r .ed . 4. vol. 2.
p. 40. Oed, FI. Dan. t. 811. L ig h t/. Scot. p. 526. Huds. Angl. p. 393. H o fm .
Germ. ed. 2. vol. 1. P . I I. p. 181. Smith FI. B rit. p. 9 43. Engl. Bot. t. 269- Pers.
Syn. P I. vol. 2. j). 512. \ jj] I
SERAPIAS Helleborine a. Linn. Sp. PL p. 1344.
H E L L E BO R IN E latifolia montana. The most common Bastard Hellebore. R aii Syn. p. 383.
H E L L E B O R IN E altera atro-rubente flore. Bastard Hellebore with a blackish flower. R aii Syn.
p . 383.
Class a n d Order. G Y N A N D R IA D IA N D R ÏA .
[N atural Order. .OR CH ID EÆ , Juss. Decand. Broton.]
Gen . Char. Labellum inferne ventricosum; superne vel indivisüm vel tri-lobum, lobo medio majore artiçulatim
connexo. Pollen farihaceum. B r .
Gen . Char. Lip ventricose below; above either undivided of three-lobed, the-middle lobe the largest, articulately
connected. Pollen farinaceous. B r .
Radix perennis, e fibris longis, simplicibus, fuscis, tor-
tuosis, carnosis, pubescentibus.
CauliS bi-etiam tri-pedalis, erectus, simplex, flexuosus,
teres, angulatus, viridis, foliosus, sufsum præcipue
subpubescens, inferne vaginis cylindraceis duabus
vel tribus tectus.
Folia alterna, patentia,' subcarinata, multinervia, mar-
gine undulata, inferiora late-ovata, acuta, basi
longe vaginata, superiora magis angusta, lanceo-
lata, acuminata, sessilia vel solummodo semi-
amplexicaulia, suprema bracteis simulantia.
Flores in spicam sublaxam, terminalem,simplicem, mul-
tifloram, dispositi, pedunculati, penduli. Bracteæ
lanceolato-subulatæ, carinatæ, glabræ ; inferiores ■
flori busTongipres.
Perianthium sex-divisum, foliola conniventia, post
• florescentiam subpatentia ; tria exteriora æqualia,
ovata, subacuminata, concava, fusco-viridia, extus
sub lente pubescentia, lineis longitudinalibus ele-
vatis instructa ; tria interiora valde inæqualia,
quorum duo superiora ovata, tenuia, exterioribus
subæqualia, pailide purpurascentia ; inferius seu
labellum reliquis vix brevius, medium versus
quasi articulatum, articulo inferiore jjiypochilium
Rich.) late ovato, valde concavo, lateribus incur-
vis, vix lobatis, viridi-purpureo, intus lineis obli-
. quis fuscescentibus notato ; articulo superiore
' - (epichilium Rich.) carneo, lineis saturatioribus
obliquis notato, cordiformi, apicûlato, paululum
recurvato, margine pulcherrime undulato-crenato,
basi callo cruciformi corrugato fusco-purpureo.
Columna labello duplo brevior, basi subcylindracea,
superne dilatata, biloba, lobis incurvis.
A nthera terminalis, basi affixa, articulata, erecta, pallide
flavescens, punctis elevatis notata, bilocularis,
lociilis longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Massoe
Pollinis albescentes, ovato-oblongoe, bipartibiles,
pulvereæ, e spherulis ternis quaternisque.
Stigma anticum, quadratum, glutinosum, angulis inferioribus
subtuberculatis, apice tuberculo rotun-
dato. (Proscolla Rich.)
Germen pyriforme, lineis elevatis, viride, vix tortum,
basi in petiolum desinens.
Root perennial, consisting of lorig, simple, brown, twisted,
fleshy and pubescent fibres-.
Stem from two to three feet in height, erect, simple,
flexuose, round, ribbed, green, leafy, above especially
subpubescent, below covered with two or
three cylindrical’sheaths.
Leaves alternate, patent, somewhat keeled, with many
nerves, undulated at the margin, the lower ones
widely ovate, acute, much sheathed at the base,
the upper ones more narrow, lanceolate, acuminate,
sessile or only semiam plexicaul, the extreme
ones resembling bracteas. ‘
Flowers disposed in a somewhat lax, terminal, simple*
manyflowered spike, upon footstalks and pendent.
Bracteas lanceolato-subulate, keeled, smooth; the
• lower ones longer than the flowers.
Perianth six-cleft, the leaflets connivent, after inflorescence
rather patent; the three outer ones
equal, ovate, subacuminate, concave, brownish
green, appearingexternallypubescentwhen viewed
through a microscope, furnished with longitudinal
elevated lines; the three inner ones very unequal
; of these the two superior ones are ovale,
thin, nearly equalling the exterior ones, of a pale
purplish colour; the loweroneorlabellum scarcely
shorter than the rest, near the middle somewhat
jointed, the lower joint (hypochilium Rich.)
widely ovate and very concave, with the sides
incurved, scarcely lobed, of a greenish-purple co
lour, marked within with oblique brown lines; the
upper joint ( epichilium Rich.) flesh-coloured,
marked with deeper-coloured oblique lines, heart-
shaped, apiculate, slightly recurved, elegantly
waved and crenulated a t the margin, having at
the base a cruciform, wrinkled, brownish-purple
excrescence.
Column but half the length of the labellum, subcylin-
drical at the base, above dilated, two-lobed, the
lobes incurved.
Anther terminal, fixed by its base, articulated, erect,
of a pale yellow colour, marked with elevated
dots, .two-celled; the cells opening lengthwise.
Pollen masses whitish, ovato-oblong, splitting in
two, farinaceous, composed of spherules adhering
together by threes and fours.
Stigma anterior, quadrate, glutinous, the inferior angles
slightly tuberculated, at the apex having a roundish
tubercle. (Proscolla of Richard.)
Germen pyriform, marked with elevated lines, green,
scarcely twisted, terminating below in a footstalk.
Fi,r. l. Flower. Fig. 2. Side view of labellum-and column of fructification. Fig. 3. Front view o f the column.
°a. a. the lobes of the superior part. b. the anther, c. the stigma, d. the proscolla (of Richard). Fig. 4 . Interior
view of the labellum. Fig. 5. Pollen masses. Fig. 6. Globules of pollen—all more or less magnified.
In woods in various parts of England, and even in Scotland, Epipactis latifolia is not unfrequently met with. It
varies somewhat in the degree of pubescence, and remarkably in the colour of its flowers, some o f which have been
sent to me by Mr. Graves from woods in the environs of Box-hill, Surrey, with the blossoms of a deep purplish
brown or blood colour. This is the Helleborine altera atro-rubente flore of Ray, and the /3 of Sir James Smith;
but as the flowers are found to vary through all the intermediate tints, it seems hardly worthy o f notice as a distinct
variety. Decandolle indeed accounts for this circumstance by saying that age renders the flowers darker.; an observation
which we have had no opportunity of verifying.
Haller’s figure of this plant in the Hist. Helv. is by no means so characteristic as the generality of his plates of
Orchideee are. The leaves are much too narrow, and approach nearer to those of E . palustris: though we must
acknowledge that the foliage does sometimes vary in this way.
Although a plant of much larger growth, yet the flowers of this species are much smaller than those of E . palustr
is ; the leaflets of the perianth are connivent until the perfect state of flowering is past, when they spread out a
little as in E . pollens, so that the words “ calyxpatulus,” as Richard describes it, can hardly be considered a generic
mark of Epipactis as distiset from Cephalanthera.
100