OECiriDS OP THE SIKKIM-imULAYl,
Sikkim, at elevations of 10,000 to 13,000 foet; Ilookei' a\ul ofcliers; on tlio Singa
lo-la raugo and at Talluni Sam-doug in the Lacliou valley, at simi'ar olcvutioua,
Paiitling No. 458; iu flower dining Ju^y and August. Nopal; Wallicli. Kainaou;
Dutlue. Also in Eastern Tibet; M. Soulio Xo. 210.
The colour of the flowers is dark purple.
"We have retained this plant iu tlie geuns Orchis, in spite of its having the
separate pouch to cach glaud which is supposed to bo characteristic of 02>/ir;/s, while
in Orchis there is supposed to be ooly a single pouch for the two glands. In some
spccies of Orchis, however, there is no pouch whatever; and in 0. spathulata, lioichb.
fi.1., specimens are common in which the pouch is developed, wliile in others it is so
rudimcntaiy as to leave the glands practically naked. The charactcr founded on a
pouch appears thus to bo untrustworthy. Wo prefer, therefore, to givo more weight to
characters dciivcd fi-oni structures othci- than those we would otherwise have relied upon
and to put this plant into Orchis i-ather than info Ophri/s, because (a) of the presence of
a woU-dcvclopcd spur cq^ualling the ovary iu length [there being no spur whatever in
typical Ophrys, and only a very short one in a single species (0. tahanifera, "Willd.),
wliich has been refei-rcd to that genus]; (i) of the entii'e abscnce of calli or otlier
appendages on the ilat Hp (the lip of Ophnjs being losually convex with reflexed margins,
and beai-ing calli or other processes on its iipper surface); (c) of the total absence
of hairs on all parts of the flownr (the petals and lip of many spacies of Ophrijg
being pubescent); and, finally, because of the absence in the column of tliis p'ant of an
apical process to the clinaudrium. The spscimeu figured on Plate 400 represents a largo
form of tho species wliich is quite common. Growing side by side with it is a dwarf
form which, except in size, dillors little fi-om the larger one. Bjtwaen the two tlicre
are numerous gradations. To this dwarf form we have given the varietal name nana,
and of it we also givo a figure.
Var. nana. "Whole plant 2 to 3 in. high; diffeiing from the larger foi-m in it3
much smaller size, in having only a single leaf, iu the middle lobe of the lip being
less deeply lobed, and in the spur being somewliat comprcssed. Pautling No, 3:26.
PLATE Orchis Chmta, Don. Two plants, of natural size. Pig, 1 a flower, front view, 2 bract,
ovary, coluniu and lip, seen from ilie si'ifc, 3 t i e petals, 4 section of spur, 5 apex of ovary and column,
sliowlng the anther-cells with tho reoeptades of the glands of the poHiiiia (/•), the staminodes and the
stig-ma («), 6 polliuia; all enlarged.
PLATE 402 hk.—Orchis Chvsm, Don, var, nana. Kins ^nd Paiitling, Three entire pknts, of natural
.tize. Fig. 1 a flower, front new, 2 side view of ovary, column, spur and lip, 3 petals, 4 seotion of spiir,
•5 column showing the antlier, pouched rosteUuta ('•) and stigoia (,?), 6 pollinia—n/^ eii/arr/od •,
7 tuher at base of stem; of natural sise.
4. ORcms PUBEEULA, neiu specics.
Whole plant not more tiran six mches higli, slender. Leaf solitary, linear, acute,
not tapered to tho base, 2 to 3 in. loug and about -12 in, broad. Spike terminal,
peduncled, 2- to 3-flowcred. Flowers two or three, about -So in. long; hract lanceolate,
half as long as the stalked ovary. Sypals strongly keeled, puberulous e.Ktcrnally; all
(but especially the ovato dorsal one) concavc; the lateral pair narrower than the
dorsal. Fctals lauceolate, falcate, sub-acuminate, not miitod into a hood with the
' 7
H A B E N A R I A . 305
dorsal. Lip about twice aa long as the sopáis, much docurved, the lateral lobes
broadly oblong with truncate apices; the terminal lobe divided into two truncate
lobules almost as large as the side lobes; the whole upper surface puberulous; spur
half as long as and lying • parallel to iho ovary, cylindric, sub-acute. Anther with
parallel cells; poUinia aub-obovoid, the caudicles clavato; the glands small, nearly naked,
their lower halves being only partly covered by the small tongue-like rostellar pouch.
Staminodes elongate.
Sikkim, iu the Lachong valley, at 10,000 feet; flowering in July; Pantling No. 478.
This specics resembles the small forms of 0. Chicsua, Don, but has pubei-ulous
strongly-keeled sepals and a very puberulous practically 4-lobed Hp; the flowers are
white.
PLATS m.—Orehis pulerula, King and Pantling. Three plants, of natural site. Pig. 1 side view
of a bract, ovary find flower, 2 lip, 3 column, showing the anthers and dmost naied poUiniar glmds,
t h e staminodes and the stigma (j), 4 poUinia; all enlarged.
87. Habenaria, Willd.
Terrestrial leafy herbs with undivided or lobed tubers or fleshy root-fibres. Leaves
not plaited, theii- bases sheathing. Flowers in racemes or spikes. Sepals sub-equal, the
dorsal often connivent with the petals to form a hood over the column; the lateral
pair spreading, reflexed or deflexed, or sometimes erect. Petals smaller or larger
than the sepals, entire or 2-cleft. Lip adnate to the base of the column, entii-c,
3-lobcd or 3-pai-tite, its base spurred. Anther-cells adnate to the front of the short
usually broad column, disci-ete, rarely touching, parallel or divergent below, thcii- bases
often prolonged into tubes containing the caudicles. Staminodes rugulose, lying one
on the outer side of each anther-cell. PoUinia two, clavate or pyi-iform, iisually grooved,
sometimes 2-partite; caudicles long, short or absent; glands exposed, flat and discoid,
or elHptic or globular, or elongate with truncate ends [conjoined and overlapped by
processes of the rostellum (?) in H. seeundiflora']. Stigmas two, distant from each other
or conjoined to form a belt across the face of tho column. Species about 400;
cosmopolitan, temperate and tropical.
A gonus wbidi should certainly be reduced to the older Linnteaa genus of Hcrminim were it
not for the upsetting of synonymy which this would involve. The older genus consists of about
1 3 speoies; Sahcnaria contains about 4001 Horeover the distinctions between Hahenaria and Orchis
aro also mostly arbitrary; and, were mere consistency the only object, Orchis (a genus of Toumefort)
would swallow up not only Herminium and Sabonaria, but also Diplomeris and Jlemipilia. Genera are
aitor all little more than conveniences for facilitating study, and there seems no necessity for
applying the Draconian principles of Kuntze at tha expense of much discomfort to the students
of this beautiful family. "We have arranged the speoies in the sections adopt«d by Sir J. D. Hooker in
his admirable account of the genus in the Flora of Sritish India.
Sect. /.—ATB,—Petals bipartite; lip 3.1obed or 3-partite.
L i p hastately 3-partite, the lower lobe of the petals short .
Segments of the lip and of the sepals filiform, and the t
of all the sepals with long filiform tails
ANN EOY. BOT, GARD., CALCUTTA, TOL, VIII.
1. S. stonopeiala.
slenopetala,
var. poly tricha.