prolonged beneath into a thread-like ascending spur twice or thrice the
length of the flower (9--12'' long), 3-lobed; the middle lobe linear, a
little wavy, as long as the petals, the side lobes short and triangular.
Column narrow and wingless. Anther lid-like, terminal; pollen-masses 2,
waxy, each 2-parted, connected by a linear stalk with the transverse
small gland.--Herb with large solid bulbs connected horizontally, on a
distinct pedicel, producing in autumn a single ovate nerved and plaited
leaf on a slender petiole, purplish beneath, and in summer a long
slender scape, with 1 or 2 sheaths at base, bearing a raceme of many
small greenish flowers tinged with purple. (Name from a fancied
resemblance of the flowers to insects of the genus _Tipula_.)
1. T. discolor, Nutt. Scape 10--18' high; lip blunt at the tip.--Sandy
woods, Vt. to N. J. and Fla., west to Mich.; very scarce.
5. APLECTRUM, Nutt. PUTTY-ROOT. ADAM-AND-EVE.
Perianth neither gibbous nor with any trace of a spur or sac at the
base. Lip free, the palate 3-ridged. Otherwise the flowers and scape
(invested below with 3 greenish sheaths) as in Corallorhiza; but,
instead of a coral like root, a slender naked rootstock produces each
year a thick, globular, solid bulb or corm, often 1' in diameter (filled
with exceedingly glutinous matter), which sends up late in summer a
large, oval, many-nerved and plaited, petioled, green leaf, lasting
through the winter, and early in the succeeding summer its scape is
terminated by a loose raceme of dingy rather large flowers. (The name
composed of [Greek: a]- privative and [Greek: ple~ktron], _a spur_, from
the total want of the latter.)
1. A. hiemale, Nutt. Stem 1 deg. high or more; perianth greenish-brown, or
the lip whitish, and somewhat speckled with purple, 5--6'' long.--Woods,
in rich mould; rather rare or local, N. Eng. to Ga., west to Minn. and
Mo.--Each corm lasts 2 or 3 years before it shrivels, so that 3 or 4 are
found horizontally connected.
6. CORALLORHIZA, Haller. CORAL-ROOT.
Perianth somewhat ringent, oblique and gibbous or obscurely spurred at
base; the oblong or lanceolate sepals and petals nearly alike,
1--3-nerved, the upper arching; the lateral sepals ascending, their
bases with that of the lip forming the gibbosity or short spur which is
mostly adnate to the summit of the ovary; lip slightly adherent to the
base of the 2-edged straightish column, bearing a pair of projecting
ridges on the face below, spreading or recurved at the apex. Anther
terminal, lid-like. Pollen-masses 4, obliquely incumbent, soft-waxy,
free.--Brownish or yellowish herbs, destitute of green foliage, with
much-branched and toothed coral-like root-stocks (probably
root-parasitical), sending up a simple scape, with sheaths in place of
leaves and bearing a raceme of rather small dull-colored flowers; fruit
reflexed. (Name composed of [Greek: kora/llion], _coral_, and [Greek:
r(i/za], _root_.)
Sec. 1. _Small spur or sac adnate to the summit of the ovary; flowers
small; lip whitish or purplish, often mottled with crimson._
1. C. innata, R. Brown. Plant slender, light brownish or yellowish
(3--9' high), 5--12-flowered; pedicels very short; perianth 2--21/2''
long; _lip somewhat hastately 3-lobed above the base_, the lamellae thick
and rather short; spur a very small protuberance; capsule oval or
elliptical (3--4'' long).--Swamps and damp woods, N. Eng. to northern
N. J., Ohio, Mich., Minn., and northward, and south in the mountains to
Ga. May, June. (Eu.)
2. C. odontorhiza, Nutt. Plant light brown or purplish; stem rather
slender, bulbous-thickened at base (6--16' high), 6--20-flowered;
pedicels rather slender; perianth about 3'' long; _lip entire_ or merely
denticulate, _thin_, broadly ovate or obovate, abruptly contracted into
a _claw-like base_, the lamellae a pair of short projections; the spur
represented by a small cavity wholly adnate to the summit of the ovary;
capsule at first very acute at base, at length short-oval (4''
long).--Rich woods, E. Mass. (_Hitchings_) and Vt. to N. J. and Fla.,
west to Mich, and Mo. May--July.
3. C. multiflora, Nutt. Plant purplish, rather stout (9--18' high),
10--30-flowered; perianth 21/2--4'' long; _lip deeply 3-lobed_, with a
short narrowed base and with prominent lamellae; spur manifest and
protuberant; capsule oblong (6--9'' long), short-pedicelled.--Dry woods,
N. Eng. to Md., west to Mo., Iowa, and Minn. July--Sept.
Sec. 2. _Spur none; the broadly gibbous somewhat saccate base wholly free
from the ovary; flowers large for the genus, purple, unspotted, more
expanding._
4. C. striata, Lindl. Plant purplish, stout (6--16' high), bearing
15--25 large flowers in a crowded spike, on very short pedicels;
perianth 6--7'' long; lip oval or obovate, perfectly entire, concave,
barely narrowed at the base, where it bears 1--3 short lamellae; all the
parts of the perianth marked with 3 darker nerves; pod oblong (9''
long). (C. Macraei, _Gray_.)--Woods, from L. Erie westward along the
Great Lakes and to the Pacific.
7. HEXALECTRIS, Raf.
Sepals and petals nearly equal, somewhat spreading, several-nerved, not
gibbous nor spurred at base, free. Lip obovate, with 5--6 prominent
ridges down the middle, 3-lobed above, the middle lobe somewhat concave.
Pollen-masses 8, united into a single fascicle. Otherwise as in
Corallorhiza. (Name probably from [Greek: e(/x], _six_, and [Greek:
a)lektryo/n], _a cock_, from the crests of the lip.)
1. H. aphyllus, Raf. Stem 1--2 deg. high, beset with purplish scales, the
lower sheathing; flowers racemed, bracteate, brownish-purple, 6--8''
long. (Bletia aphylla, _Nutt._)--Rich woods, Ky. and Mo. to Fla. and
Mex.
8. LISTERA, R. Brown. TWAYBLADE.
Sepals and petals nearly alike, spreading or reflexed. Lip mostly
drooping, longer than the sepals, 2-lobed or 2-cleft. Column wingless;
stigma with a rounded beak. Anther borne on the back of the column at
the summit, erect, ovate; pollen powdery, in 2 masses, joined to a
minute gland.--Roots fibrous. Stem bearing a pair of opposite sessile
leaves in the middle, and a spike or raceme of greenish or
brownish-purple small flowers. (Dedicated to _Martin Lister_, an early
and celebrated British naturalist.)
[*] _Column very short; sepals ovate, reflexed; plants delicate, 4--8'
high._
1. L. cordata, R. Brown. Leaves round-ovate, somewhat heart-shaped
(1/2--1' long); raceme smooth; _flowers minute, crowded, on pedicels not
longer than the ovary; lip_ linear, twice as long as the sepals,
1-toothed each side at base, _2-cleft_.--Cold woods, N. J. to Mich.,
Minn., and northward. June. (Eu.)
2. L. australis, Lindl. Leaves ovate; _raceme loose and slender; flowers
very small, on minutely glandular-pubescent pedicels twice the length of
the ovary; lip_ linear, 3--4 times the length of the sepals, _2-parted,
the divisions linear-setaceous_.--Damp thickets, Oswego Co., N. Y., and
from N. J. to Fla. June.
[*][*] _Column longer, arching or straightish._
3. L. convallarioides, Nutt. Plant 4--9' high; leaves oval or roundish,
and sometimes a little heart-shaped (1--11/2' long); raceme loose,
pubescent; pedicels slender, lip wedge-oblong, 2-lobed at the dilated
apex, and 1-toothed on each side at the base, nearly twice the length of
the narrowly lanceolate spreading sepals, purplish, {1/3}' long.--Damp
mossy woods, N. New Eng. to Mich., Minn., and northward, and south in
the mountains to N. C.
9. SPIRANTHES, Richard. LADIES' TRESSES.
Perianth somewhat ringent, oblique on the ovary; the sepals and petals
all narrow, mostly erect or connivent, the three upper pieces sticking
together more or less, the two lower covering the base of the lip. Lip
oblong, short stalked or sessile, the lower part involute around the
column, and with a callous protuberance on each side of the base; the
somewhat dilated summit spreading or recurved, crisped, wavy, or rarely
toothed or lobed. Column short, oblique, bearing the ovate stigma on the
front, and the sessile or short-stalked (mostly acute or pointed)
2-celled erect anther on the back. Pollen-masses 2 (one in each cell),
narrowly obovate, each 2-cleft, and split into thin and tender plates of
granular pollen united by elastic threads, and soon adhering at base to
the narrow boat-shaped viscid gland, which is set in the slender or
tapering thin beak terminating the column. After the removal of the
gland, the beak is left as a 2-toothed or 2-forked tip.--Roots
clustered-tuberous; stem more or less naked above, leaf-bearing below or
at the base. Flowers small (ours all white or greenish-white), bent
horizontally, 1--3-ranked in a spike, which is commonly more or less
spirally twisted (whence the name, from [Greek: spei/ra], _a coil_ or
_curl_, and [Greek: a)/nthos], _flower_).
[*] _Flowers in 3 ranks, crowded in a close spike; leaves at the root
and base of the stem present at the flowering season._
1. S. latifolia, Torr. Low; naked stem or scape 4--9' (rarely 12') high,
smooth; _leaves all next the base, oblong or lance-oblong_ (1--4' long,
3--9'' wide), 3--5-nerved, contracted into a sheathing base; spike
narrow (1--3' long); _flowers small_ (2--3'' long); lip quadrate-oblong,
yellowish on the face, not contracted in the middle, thin, wavy-crisped
at the very obtuse or truncate apex, the small _callosities_ at the base
_oblong, marginal and adnate_ for their whole length; gland and beak of
the stigma short.--Moist banks, Vt. and W. Mass. to Mich. and Minn.,
south to Del. and Md.
2. S. Romanzoffiana, Cham. Stem _leafy below and leafy-bracted above_
(5--15' high); leaves varying from oblong-lanceolate to grassy-linear;
spike dense, oblong or cylindrical (1--4' long); perianth curved and the
summit _manifestly ringent_, pure white (4'' long), the sepals and
petals all connivent in the upper portion or galea; the _lip
ovate-oblong, contracted below the rounded wavy-crenulate much recurved
summit_, otherwise entire, the callosities at base globular and smooth;
gland oblong-linear and the 2-horned _beak of the stigma short_.--High
and cool bogs, N. New Eng. to Mich. and Minn., and northward; Norfolk,
Conn. (_Barbour_); central N. Y. July, Aug. (Ireland.)
3. S. cernua, Richard. Stem _leafy below and leafy-bracted_ above
(6--20' high); _leaves linear-lanceolate_, the lowest elongated (4--12'
long, 2--9'' wide); spike cylindrical, rather dense (2--5' long) and
with the white fragrant flowers either pubescent or nearly smooth;
perianth horizontal or recurving (4--5'' long), the _lower sepals not
upturned_ or connivent with the upper; _lip oblong_ and very obtuse when
outspread, but conduplicate or the margins much incurved, wavy-crisped
above the middle, especially at the flattish and recurved-spreading
apex, the callosities at the base prominent, nipple-shaped, somewhat
hairy; gland of the stigma linear, in a _long and very slender
beak_.--Common in wet places, especially eastward and southward. Sept.,
Oct. Very variable in size and foliage, often nearly losing its
root-leaves at flowering time.--A variety, growing in dry ground but
retaining its leaves and blooming somewhat later, has greenish
cream-colored or yellowish stronger-scented flowers. E. Mass. and Del.
[*][*] _Flowers in one straight or spirally twisted rank._
[+] _Stem bearing elongated leaves at and toward the base, which mostly
persist during the flowering season._
4. S. praecox, Watson. Root of fleshy or tuberous-thickened fibres; stem
9'--2 deg. high; lower and root-leaves linear or lance-linear (3--8' long,
2--4'' wide) gradually tapering to the base, the upper reduced to
sheathing bracts; spike linear, dense (2--5' long), usually much
twisted, the axis, ovaries, etc., downy-pubescent; bracts ovate and
gradually, or rhombic-ovate and abruptly taper-pointed, surpassing the
ovary, the margins broadly hyaline; perianth 3'' long; lip ovate-oblong
when outspread, with rather small callosities at base, crisped at the
rounded slightly recurved apex; anther and beak of the stigma very
acute. (S. graminea, var. Walteri, _Gray_.)--Wet, grassy places, Mass.
to N. J. and Fla.
[+][+] _Scape very slender, merely bracted; the leaves with a blade all
in a cluster at the ground, ovate or oblong, abruptly contracted into a
petiole, commonly withering away at or before flowering; flowers small,
and whole plant glabrous or nearly so; bracts small, sharp-pointed, not
longer than the capsule._
5. S. gracilis, Bigelow. _Roots clustered, tuberous-thickened_; scape
8--18' high, bearing a slender many-flowered one-sided or twisted spike;
perianth barely 11/2--2'' long; _lip oval_ when outspread, narrowly oblong
in natural form, _thickish and green above_ with thin white margins, the
recurved obtuse or acutish apex wavy-crisped, the callosities at the
base nipple-shaped.--Hilly woods and sandy plains, common. July--Oct.
6. S. simplex, Gray. Root a _solitary oblong or spindle-shaped tuber_;
no leaves at flowering time; scape 5--9' high, bearing a small narrow
(rarely 1-sided) spike (1--3' long) of _very short flowers_ (perianth
1--11/2'' long); _lip thin, white, obovate-oblong_, the apex eroded and
crisped, the callosities at the base slender.--Dry sandy soil, E. Mass.
to N. J., Del., and Md. Aug., Sept.
10. GOODYERA, R. Br. RATTLESNAKE-PLANTAIN.
Lip sac-shaped, sessile, entire, and without callosities at base.
Otherwise as Spiranthes.--Root of thick fibres, from a somewhat fleshy
creeping rootstock, bearing a tuft of thickish petioled leaves, usually
reticulated with white veining. Scape, spike, and the greenish-white
small flowers usually glandular-downy. (Dedicated to _John Goodyear_,
an early English botanist.)
Sec. 1. _Lip strongly saccate-inflated and with a short spreading or
recurved tip; anther short, borne on a distinct filament attached to the
back of the short column, blunt; gland-bearing tip or beak of the stigma
very short._
1. G. repens, R. Br. Small (5--8' high) and slender; leaves ovate, more
or less white-reticulated (about 1' long); _flowers several, in a loose
1-sided spike_; lip with an ovate recurved tip; sepals ovate.--Woods,
under evergreens, common northward and through the Alleghanies. Aug.
(Eu.)
2. G. pubescens, R. Br. Larger; leaves strongly white-reticulated; scape
6--12' high, the _numerous crowded flowers not one-sided_; tip of the
_globular lip very short_; otherwise like the preceding, and too near to
it.--Rich woods, Newf. to Fla., west to Mich. and Minn.
Sec. 2. _Lip barely saccate below, tapering and its sides involute above;
anther ovate, long-pointed, borne on the base of the very short column,
which is continued above the stigma into a conspicuous tapering
awl-shaped gland-bearing beak._
3. G. Menziesii, Lindl. Leaves ovate-oblong, acute (2--3' long), less
white-reticulated than the preceding, some not at all so; scape 9--12'
high; flowers rather numerous in a looser often 1-sided spike;
flower-buds less pubescent, elongated-ovate and pointed; lip with the
saccate-conduplicate lower portion gradually tapering into the narrow
barely spreading summit.--Woods, Gaspe and Tadousac, L. Can. (_J. A.
Allen, Goodale_); Crawford, N. H. (_Miss Minns_); western N. Y. to
Minn., and westward. July.
11. EPIPACTIS, Haller.
Sepals and petals nearly equal, spreading. Lip free, deeply concave at
base, narrowly constricted and somewhat jointed in the middle, the upper
portion dilated and petaloid. Column short, erect. Anther sessile behind
the broad truncate stigma, on a slender-jointed base; pollen-masses
coarsely granular, becoming attached to the gland capping the small
rounded beak of the stigma.--Stem leafy, with racemed flowers,
conspicuous bracts, and ovaries reflexed at maturity. (The ancient Greek
name of a plant.)
1. E. Helleborine, Crantz. Stems 1--2 deg. high; leaves broadly ovate
(2--3' long), pointed, plicate, the upper narrower; raceme pubescent,
30--50-flowered, 1-sided; flowers varying from light greenish-yellow to
dark purple; sepals ovate-lanceolate, 3--4'' long; petals rather
smaller; lip ovate, pointed above, with a dark centre. (E. latifolia,
_All._)--Near Syracuse and Buffalo, N. Y.; the only known stations.
(Eu.)
12. ARETHUSA, Gronov.
Flower ringent; the lanceolate sepals and petals nearly alike, united at
base, ascending and arching over the column. Lip dilated and
recurved-spreading toward the summit; very slightly gibbous at base.
Column adherent to the lip below, petal-like, dilated at the apex.
Anther lid-like, terminal, of 2 approximate cells; pollen-masses
powdery-granular, 2 in each cell.--Beautiful low herbs, consisting of a
sheathed scape from a globular solid bulb, terminated usually by a
single large rose-purple flower. Leaf solitary, linear, nerved, hidden
in the sheaths of the scape, protruding after flowering. (Dedicated to
the nymph _Arethusa_.)
1. A. bulbosa, L. Flower single (rarely 2), erect (1--2' long), with an
entire lip recurved at the apex and bearded-crested down the
face.--Bogs, Newf. to the mountains of N. C., west to Ind. and Minn.
13. CALOPOGON, R. Br.
Flower with the ovary or stalk not twisting, therefore presenting its
lip on the upper or inner side. Sepals and petals nearly alike,
lance-ovate, spreading, distinct. Lip spreading, distant from the
column, raised on a narrowed base or stalk, dilated at the summit,
strongly bearded along the upper side. Column free, slender, winged at
the apex. Anther terminal and lid-like, sessile; pollen-masses 4 (two in
each cell), of soft powdery grains, lightly connected by delicate
threads.--Scape from a small solid bulb, sheathed below by the base of
the grass-like leaf, naked above, bearing several large flowers. Bracts
minute. (Name composed of [Greek: kalo/s], _beautiful_, and [Greek:
po/gon] _beard_, from the bearded lip.)
1. C. pulchellus, R. Br. Leaf linear; scape about 1 deg. high,
2--6-flowered; flowers 1' broad, pink-purple; lip as if hinged at the
insertion, beautifully bearded toward the dilated summit with white,
yellow, and purple club-shaped hairs.--Bogs, Newf. to Fla., west to
Minn. and Mo.
14. POGONIA, Juss.
Flower irregular, the sepals and petals separate. Lip crested or
3-lobed. Column free, elongated, club-shaped, wingless. Anther terminal
and lid-like, stalked; pollen-masses 2 (one in each cell),
powdery-granular. ([Greek: Pogoni/as] _bearded_, from the lip of some
of the original species.)
Sec. 1. _Sepals and petals nearly equal and alike, pale rose-color,
sometimes white._
1. P. ophioglossoides, Nutt. Root of thick fibres; stem (6--9' high)
bearing a single oval or lance-oblong leaf near the middle and a smaller
one or bract near the terminal flower, rarely one or two others with a
flower in the axil; flower 1' long, sweet-scented; lip spatulate,
appressed below to the column, beard-crested and fringed.--Bogs, Newf.
to Fla., west to N. Ind. and Minn. June, July. (Japan.)
2. P. pendula, Lindl. Stem (3--8' high) from oblong tubers, bearing 3 to
7 alternate ovate-clasping very small (3--6'') leaves, the upper 1--4
with drooping flowers in their axils on slender pedicels; perianth 1/2'
long, narrow; lip spatulate, somewhat 3-lobed, roughish or crisped
above, crestless.--Damp woods, N. Eng. to Fla., west to Wisc. and Mo.
Sec. 2. _Sepals linear, dingy or brownish, longer and much narrower than
the erect or connivent petals; lip 3-lobed at the apex, crested down the
middle, beardless; flowers solitary (or rarely a pair), terminal; root a
cluster of fibres._
3. P. divaricata, R. Br. Stem (1--2 deg. high) bearing _a lanceolate leaf
in the middle, and a leafy bract_ next the flower, which is recurved on
the ovary; but the sepals ascending or diverging, spatulate-linear,
longer than the lanceolate-spatulate pointed and flesh-colored petals,
these about 1--11/2' long.--Wet pine-barrens, N. J. to Fla. June, July.
4. P. verticillata, Nutt. Stem (6--12' high) naked, except some small
scales at the base and a _whorl of mostly 5 obovate or obovate-oblong
sessile leaves_ at the summit; flower dusky purplish, on a _peduncle
longer than the ovary and capsule; sepals more than twice the length of
the petals_, narrowly linear, spreading from a mostly erect base (11/2--2'
long); lip with a narrow crest down the middle.--Low woods, N. Eng. to
Fla., west to Ind. and Wisc.; rather rare, especially eastward. May,
June. Glaucous when young. Fruit-stalk erect, about 11/2' long, more than
half the length of the leaves.
5. P. affinis, Austin. Somewhat smaller than the preceding; leaves paler
and rather narrower; flowers (not rarely in pairs) yellowish or
greenish; _peduncle much shorter than the ovary and capsule; sepals but
little longer than the petals_, tapering to the base; lip crested over
the whole face and on the middle of the lobes.--Low woods, S. W. Conn.,
S. New York, and N. New Jersey; rare.
15. ORCHIS, L.
Flower ringent; the sepals and petals nearly equal. Lip turned downward,
coalescing with the base of the column, spurred below. Anther-cells
contiguous and parallel. Pollen cohering in numerous coarse waxy grains,
which are collected on a cobweb-like elastic tissue into 2 large masses
(one filling each anther-cell) borne on a slender stalk, the base of
which is attached to a gland or sticky disk of the stigma, the two
glands contained in a common little pouch or hooded fold, placed just
above the orifice of the spur. Flowers showy, in a spike.--Our species
with low scape-like stems, with 1 or 2 leaves at base, from
fleshy-fibrous roots. ([Greek: O(rchis], the ancient name.)
1. O. spectabilis, L. (SHOWY ORCHIS.) Root of thick fleshy fibres,
_producing 2 oblong-obovate shining leaves_ (3--6' long), and a
few-flowered 4 angled scape (4--7' high); bracts leaf-like, lanceolate;
sepals and petals all lightly united to form the vaulted galea or upper
lip, pink-purple, the ovate undivided lip white.--Rich woods,
N. Brunswick to Ga., west to Minn. and Mo. May.
2. O. rotundifolia, Pursh. Stem naked above, 1_-leaved at base_ (5--9'
high), from a slender creeping rootstock; leaf varying from almost
orbicular to oblong (11/2--3' long); flowers rose-purple, the lip white
and spotted with purple, 3-lobed, and the larger middle lobe dilated and
2-lobed or strongly notched at the summit (4--6'' long), exceeding the
ovate-oblong petals and sepals, and the slender depending spur.
(Habenaria rotundifolia, _Richardson_.)--Damp woods and bogs, N. Maine
to Vt., N. Y., Minn., and northward.
16. HABENARIA, Willd. REIN-ORCHIS.
Glands or viscid disks (to which the pollen-masses are attached) naked
and exposed, separate, sometimes widely so (becoming attached, some to
the proboscis, others to the face or head of insects feeding upon the
nectar of the spur, the pollen thus carried from one blossom to
another); otherwise nearly as in true Orchis; the lateral sepals,
however, mostly spreading. (Name from _habena_, a thong or rein, in
allusion to the shape of the lip or spur of some species.)
Sec. 1. GYMNADENIA. _Cells of the anther parallel and approximate, their
glands therefore contiguous. (Appendages of the stigma in our species
two or three and much developed, oblong or club-shaped.)_
1. H. tridentata, Hook. Stem slender (6--12' high), with a single oblong
or oblanceolate obtuse leaf below, and 2 or 3 small ones like bracts
above; spike 6--12-flowered, oblong; _flowers greenish or whitish, very
small; lip wedge-oblong, truncate, and with 3 short teeth at the apex_;
the slender and slightly club-shaped spur curved upward, longer than the
ovary.--Wet woods, N. Eng. to Minn. and Ind., and south in the mountains
to N. C. June, July.--Root of few fleshy fibres. Appendages of the
stigma three, oblong-club-shaped, one outside each orbicular gland and
one between them, rising as high as the anther-cell, their cellular
viscid summits receiving pollen in the unopened flower, and penetrated
by pollen-tubes!