[Sidenote: =Peramium repens= (L.) Salisb. _Northern Rattlesnake
Plantain._]
Plant 6—10 inches high, glandular-hairy in the upper part of the stem.
Leaves oblong-lanceolate, an inch or more long and a third as wide,
tapering to both ends, green and usually blotched with white along the
veins. Flowers small in a one-sided spike, greenish-white, about ¼ of
an inch long, densely glandular-hairy on the outer surface; sepals and
petals erect, ovate; lip sac-like with a narrow recurved tip.
Frequent in the woods throughout the Rockies, flowering in July.
[Sidenote: =Cœloglossum bracteatum= (Willd.) Parl. _Long-bracted
Orchid._]
Stem stout and leafy, 6—18 inches high, from a root of numerous
fusiform tubers. Leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 2—4 inches
long. Flowers in a loose spike 2—3 inches long with bracts an inch
long; flowers yellowish-green, sepals ovate-lanceolate, dilated at the
base, ¼ of an inch long; petals very narrow or sometimes thread-like;
lip nearly half an inch long, oblong-spatulate, 2—3-toothed or lobed at
the tip, more than twice as long as the white sac-like spur.
Frequent in open grassy woods and meadows throughout the Rockies;
flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Limnorchis dilatatiformis= Rydb. _Purplish-Green
Bog-orchid._]
Stem 1, 2, or 3 feet tall, from a root of 2 or 3 fusiform, hairy
tubers; leafy. Lowest leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, 2—5 inches long,
upper ones lanceolate, acute, much longer. Spike of flowers 4—12 inches
long, loosely flowered, the bracts linear-lanceolate, the lowest much
longer than the flowers, 1—1½ inches long. Flowers about ½ an inch
long; sepals yellowish-green and thin, the upper one ovate, erect,
about ⅛ of an inch long, the lateral ones obtuse and spreading, ¼ of
an inch long, petals lanceolate, acute, greenish-purple or green; lip
purple or greenish, linear, obtuse, thick, over ¼ of an inch long; spur
about ½ as long as the lip, sack-like.
Frequent through the region in open swamps, wet meadows and sloughs,
varying greatly in size; flowering during June and early July.
[Illustration: _a_ Ophrys borealis (Morong). Northern Twayblade.
_b_ Cœloglossum bracteatum (Willo) Parl. Long-Bracted Orchid.
_c_ Limnorchis fragrans Rydb. Fragrant White Bog-Orchid.
_d_ Lysiella obtusata (Pursh) Rydb. Small Northern Bog-Orchid.
_e_ Ophrys nephrophylla Rydb. Heart-Shaped Twayblade.
(⅔ Nat.)]
[Sidenote: =Limnorchis viridiflora= (Cham.) Rydb. _Small Green
Bog-orchid._]
Stem 8—18 inches high, strict and leafy. Lower leaves oblanceolate,
obtuse, 2—4 inches long, upper lanceolate and acute; spike of flowers
short and dense, the bracts linear-lanceolate, the lower slightly
exceeding the flowers. Flowers ½ an inch long or less, yellowish-green;
upper sepals broadly ovate, erect; lateral ones ¼ of an inch long,
acute, spreading; petals erect, lanceolate, acute; lip lanceolate,
obtuse, less than ¼ of an inch long; spur club-shaped, curved, about
as long as the lip. Differs from the last species in the bright green
colour, slightly smaller flowers with broader based lip and the longer,
club-shaped curved spur.
In bogs throughout the region; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Limnorchis borealis= (Cham.) Rydb. _Small White
Bog-orchid._]
Stem 18 inches to 2 feet high, slender and leafy. Leaves, the lower
oblanceolate and obtuse, the upper lanceolate, acute. Spike of flowers
often rather dense, 4—8 inches long; bracts lanceolate, the lower often
much exceeding the flowers; flowers ½ an inch or more long, white or
sometimes yellowish or greenish-white; upper sepals ovate, obtuse, ¼
of an inch long, lateral ones oblong-lanceolate, spreading; petals
lanceolate, slightly shorter than the sepals; lip rhombic-lanceolate,
obtuse, about ¼ of an inch long; spur club-shaped about the length of
or shorter than the lip.
Throughout the region in open boggy places and wet meadows; flowering
in June.
[Sidenote: =Limnorchis fragrans= Rydb. _Fragrant Orchid._]
Stem slender, 8—12 inches high, from a narrow fusiform tuberous
root. Leaves linear, acute, 2—4 inches long, about ½ an inch wide.
Spike of flowers slender, lax; bracts, lanceolate, acuminate, the
lower slightly longer than the flowers; flowers pure white with a
spicy fragrance; upper sepal ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, the lateral
ones linear-lanceolate, acute, and strongly veined; petals narrowly
linear-lanceolate equalling the sepals; lip lanceolate with an ovate
rhomboid base about ¼ of an inch long; spur slender and curved,
slightly exceeding the lip.
In more or less shaded bogs through the Rockies, flowering during July.
[Sidenote: =Ibidium romanzoffianum= (Cham.) House. _Lady’s Tresses._]
Stem smooth, 6—18 inches high, leafy below, bracted above; the lower
leaves 3—8 inches long, linear or linear-oblanceolate. Head of flowers
more or less glandular, hairy, 2—4 inches long, half an inch or more
thick, bracts shorter than the flowers; flowers waxy white or greenish,
nearly half an inch long with an open mouth, spreading horizontally and
very fragrant; upper sepals broad and obtuse; lip oblong, broad at the
base, and contracted below to the crisped apex, thin, transparent, and
veined, callosities merely thickenings of the basal margins of the lip.
Throughout the region in springy places and wet alpine meadows;
flowering toward the end of July.