downy and glandular above, bearing several narrowly
lanceolate and usually adpressed leaves. The radical
leaves are long, nearly linear, erect, glabrous: in strong
specimens they are not all radical, but 1 or 2 of them are
seated upon the lower part of the stem. Spike long, slender,
lax, spiral, consisting of numerous white flowers, which are
downy internally. Sepals lanceolate, acute, the 2 lateral
ones spreading, the intermediate one incumbent upon, and
closely attached to, the linear acute petals. Lip spathulate,
acute, obscurely crenate, white with its base green. Column
very slightly bifid at the point, acute. Operculum
acute. Between the operculum and column, on both sides,
there is a minute, membranous, transparent, lanceolate,
acute scale. It also exists in N. spiralis, but is ovate and
obtuse in that plant. The structure of these parts is not
well represented at t. 541 of this work.
The plant before us is in perfection at the latter end of
July, and it is to be hoped that it will be discovered in
some wet sandy place in the south of England now that its
characters have been pointed out to the English botanist.
C. C. B.