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Orchids  of  New  England 


A    POPULAR    MONOGRAPH. 


HENRY  BALDWIN. 


NEW  YORK: 

JOHN    WILEY   &    SONS. 
1884. 


D.c 


IWce   coUectLon  J  %V? 


Aocc9s.Ap<-H-^3 


Copyright,  1884, 
By  HENRY   BALDWIN. 


Press  of  J.  J.  Little  &  Co., 
Nos.  10  to  20  Astor  Place,  New  York. 


INTRODUCTION 


The  name  Orchid  is  with  most  persons  associated  with  the 
heat  and  luxuriant  vegetation  of  southern  climates,  and  our 
North  American  species  are,  as  a  rule,  known  only  to  botan- 
ists. Few  in  number,  terrestrial  in  their  habits,  often  un- 
obtrusive in  color,  almost  valueless  in  trade,  they  make  of 
themselves  no  claim  to  distinction  in  the  vast  floral  tribe  to 
which  they  belong ;  and  the  rambler  in  wood  or  field  is  sur- 
prised when  told  that  this  or  that  flower  he  has  brought  home 
is  related  to  the  gorgeous  and  curious  plants  he  has  admired  in 
some  hot-house.  When  the  Island  of  Java  contains  over  three 
hundred  species  of  Orchids,  it  is  but  a  confession  of  poverty  to 
state  that  the  section  of  the  United  States  lying  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  north  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  pro- 
duces fifty-nine  species  and  varieties ;  but  when  this  area  is 
narrowed  down  to  New  England  and  forty-seven  are  found  in 
the  catalogue  of  her  flora,  the  provincial  pride  that  devotes  a 
special  treatise  to  this  little  group  can  be  easily  understood. 

My  own  acquaintance  with  this  rural  family  was  for  years 
what  might  be  called  a  bowing  one ;  a  supposed  ability  to  call 
its  members  by  name  when  I  saw  them  and  an  appreciation  of 
their  outward  beauty  or  oddity  forming  a  superficial  knowledge 
with  which  I  was  quite  content  until  I  began  to  make  a  series 
of  sketches  of  my  charming  friends.  Then,  as  I  observed 
them  more  closely  in  their  homes,  I  realized  how  little  one 
knows  about  .his  neighbors,  after  all ;  discovered  that  there 
were  brothers  and  sisters,  cousins  once  or  twice  removed  and 
other   relatives   I  had   never  seen,   and  that  these  apparently 


6  IN  TR  OD  UC  TION. 

guileless  folk  had  tastes  and  passions  deserving  the  closest 
study.  They  actually  seem,  now  that  I  understand  them  bet- 
ter, more  like  human  beings  than  forms  of  vegetation,  and  if 
we  believe  the  marvellous  tales  of  the  wise  men  as  to  the  de- 
pendence of  Orchids  upon  insects;  that  each  part  of  a  flower 
has  its  share  in  the  mutual  labor ;  that  the  spots  and  fringes, 
silken  curtains  and  waving  banners,  strong,  or  subtile  odors, 
are  not  mere  adornments,  but  necessary  to  the  fertility  of  the 
plant  and  the  perpetuation  of  its  race ;  that  there  are  changes 
in  color  and  structure,  plots  and  devices  to  gain  their  ends,  we 
must  confess,  I  think,  that  although  the  Orchids  do  not  spin, 
they  toil  with  a  wisdom  and  foresight  that  Solomon  might 
have  envied. 

It  is  well  to  enumerate  at  this  point  the  leading  characteris- 
tics of  Orchids  ;  that  is,  of  the  Orchis  family,  and  I  find  that 
many  are  puzzled  by  the  interchange  of  words.  Our  Orchis 
spcctabilis  is  a  species  of  the  genus  "  Orchis"  but  the  Orchis 
family  has  many  other  genera,  and  while  it  is  proper  to  call  an 
Arethusa  or  a  Lady's-Slipper  an  Orchid,  it  is  not  proper  to  call 
either  an  Orchis,  that  final  consonant  being  of  decided  impor- 
tance in  the  botanist's  view. 

Quoting  from  both  Gray  and  Darwin,  let  me  explain  that 
the  flower  of  an  Orchid  has  "  3  inner  divisions  (petals)  and 
3  outer  divisions  (sepals)  mostly  of  the  same  texture  and  petal- 
like appearance.     One  of  the   inner  set   differs   more   or  less 

from  the  rest and  is  called  the  labellum  or  lip,"  and  this  is 

often  beautifully  or  grotesquely  shaped,  and  whether  furnished 
with  a  spur-like  appendage  or  destitute  of  one,  it  is  almost 
always  a  conspicuous  feature.  "  It  is  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  external  envelopes  of  the  flower.  It  not  only 
secretes  nectar,  but  is  often  modelled  into  variously  shaped  re- 
ceptacles for  holding  this  fluid,  or  is  itself  rendered  attractive 
so  as  to  be  gnawed  by  insects.  Unless  the  flowers  were  by  some 
means  rendered  attractive,  most  of  the  species  would  be  cursed 


IN  TROD  UCTIOJV. 


with  perpetual  sterility.  It  is  often  deeply  channelled,  or  has 
guiding  ridges,"  ....  often  approaches  the  other  divisions 
"  closely  enough  to  render  the  flower  tubular."  It  is  properly 
the  upper  petal,  but  a  slight  twist  in  the  ovary  or  seed-vessel 
has  turned  the  flower  upside  down,  a  change  enabling  insects 
to  enter  the  flower  more  easily. 

"  In  most  flowers,  the  stamens,  or  male  organs,  surround 
in  a  ring  the  female  organs,  called  the  pistils.  In  all  common 
Orchids  there  is  only  one  well-developed  stamen,  which  is  con- 
fluent with  the  pistils  and  they  form  together  the  column. 
Ordinary  stamens  consist  of  a  filament  or  supporting  thread 
(not  always  seen  in  the  Orchids)  which  carries  the  anther"  and 
this  is  "  a  sort  of  case  filled  with  a  waxy  or  meal-like  powder, 
called  the  pollen,  which  serves  to  fertilize  the  pistil."  "  The 
anther  is  divided  into  two  cells,  which  are  very  distinct  in 
most  Orchids,  and  appear  in  some 
species  like  two  separate  anthers." 
"  Orchids  properly  have  three  pistils 
united  together,  the  upper  and  anterior 
surfaces  of  two  of  which  form  the  two 
stigmas.  But  the  two  are  often  com- 
pletely confluent  so  as  to  appear  as 
one."  The  grains  of  pollen,  when  de- 
posited on  the  stigma,  "  emit  long 
tubes,"  and  these  penetrating  the  sur- 
face, "  carry  the  contents  of  the  grains 
down  to  the  young  seeds  in  the  ovary," 
which,  when  mature,  is  "  a  i-celled, 
3-valved  pod,  with  innumerable  minute 
seeds  appearing  like  fine  sawdust." 
"  The  upper  stigma  is  modified  into  an 
extraordinary  organ  called  the  7'ostellum,  which  in  many  Or- 
chids presents  no  resemblance  to  a  true  stigma.  When  mature, 
it  either  includes  or  is  altogether  formed  of  viscid  matter." 


Fig.  2.— Section  of  the  Flower 
of  an  Orchid.  (From  Darvvin.) 

Pe,  Pe,  Petals  ;  Se,  6V,  S>,  Sepals  ; 
S,  S,  Stigmas  ;  Sr,  Stigma  mod- 
ified into  the  rostellum. 

A,  Fertile  anther  of  the  outer 
whorl  ;  A^  A-3,  anthers  of  the 
same  whorl  combined  with  the 
lower  petal,  forming  the  label- 
lum  ;  «,,  a2,  rudimentary  an- 
thers of  the  inner  whorl  (fertile 
in  Cypripedium),  generally 
forming  the  clinandrum ;  aa, 
third  anther  of  the  same  whorl, 
when  present,  forming  the 
front  of  the  column. 


g  IN  TK  OD  UC  TION. 

Originally,  Darwin  tells  us,  the  flower  consisted  of  "  fifteen 
organs,  arranged  alternately,  three  within  three,  in  five  whorls 
or  circles ;  three  sepals,  three  petals,  six  anthers  in  two  circles 
(of  which  only  one  belonging  to  the  outer  circle  is  perfect  in 
all  the  common  forms)  and  three  pistils,  with  one  of  them 
modified  into  the  rostellum.  Of  the  existence  of  three  of  the 
anthers  in  two  of  the  whorls,  R.  Brown*  offers  no  sufficient 
evidence,  but  believes  that  they  are  combined  with  the  labellum 
whenever  that  organ  presents  crests  or  ridges.  The  amount 
of  change  these  flowers  have  undergone  from  their  parental 
or  typical  form  is  enormous.  Organs  are  used  for  purposes 
widely  different  from  their  proper  use, — other  organs  have 
been  entirely  suppressed  or  have  left  mere  useless  emblems  of 
their  former  existence."  Two  stamens  belonging  to  the  outer 
circle,  that  were  or  became  petal-like,  have  united  with  a  real 
petal  to  form  the  lip.  Seven  organs  have  united  to  form  the 
column,"  of  which  three  alone  perform  their  proper  function, 
namely  one  anther  and  two  generally  confluent  stigmas, — 
with  the  third  stigma  modified  into  the  rostellum  and  inca- 
pable of  being  fertilized, — and  with  three  of  the  anthers  no 
longer  functionally  active,  but  serving  either  to  protect  the 
pollen  of  the  fertile  anther,  or  to  strengthen  the  column,  or 
existing  as  mere  rudiments,  or  entirely  suppressed.  To  trace 
the  gradations  perfectly  between  the  several  species  and  groups 
of  species  in  this  great  and  closely-connected  order,  all  the  ex- 
tinct forms  which  have  ever  existed  along  many  lines  of  descent 
converging  to  the  common  progenitor  would  have  to  be  called 
into  life."  f 

The  flower  of  an  Orchid  may  be  solitary,  or  one  of  a  cluster, 
and  is  furnished  with  a  bract,  a  kind  of  little  leaf  that  springs 
from  the  point  where  the  flower  stem  joins  the  main  stem. 
Sometimes  petals  and  sepals  unite  to  form  a  hood  or  roof  over 

*  A  noted  authority  on  this  special  subject, 
f  "The  Fertilization  of  Orchids." 


IN  TROD  UCTION.  9 

the  lip  \  sometimes  spread  apart,  giving  the  blossom  the  look  of 
a  winged  insect.  Who  knows  but  nature  intended  to  make  the 
resemblance  closer  and  then  changed  her  mind  ?  The  blossom 
or  blossoms  may  be  borne  on  a  scape,  a  stalk  without  normal 
leaves,  like  that  of  our  Pink  Lady's-Slipper,  or  on  a  leafy  stem 
like  that  of  the  Yellow  Lady's-Slipper;  this  scape,  or  stem, 
being  sometimes  covered  with  minute  down  ;  often  ribbed  or 
angled.  The  leaves  are  parallel  veined,  like  those  of  the 
Lilies  (indeed,  as  the  Lily  family  follows  the  Orchis  family 
pretty  closely  in  botanical  order  and  there  are  obvious  points 
of  resemblance,  it  is  not  strange  that  some  Orchids  are  mis- 
taken for  Lilies),  and  coming  to  the  roots,  we  have  three  or 
four  kinds;  clusters  of  fibres,  clusters  of  tubers,  branching, 
coral-like  substances,  and  bulbs.  Nearly  all  Orchids,  wher- 
ever they  may  grow  (in  England,  all  but  one  species),  de- 
pend so  closely  upon  insects  for  their  fertilization  that  the 
failure  of  a  plant  to  attract  the  insects  that  would  naturally 
visit  it,  or  to  produce  the  nectar  for  which  they  come,  would 
work  a  two-fold  mischief:  the  extinction  of  the  one  must  be 
followed  by  the  extinction  of  the  other.  To  sum  up,  in  the 
words  of  Hermann  Miiller:  "  The  Orchis  family  is  remarkable 
for  the  following  characters,  due  to  its  wide  distribution  and 
to  its  enormous  number  of  species :  first,  for  great  variety  of 
habit  and  diversity  of  station  ;  secondly,  for  its  immense  variety 
of  peculiar  and  highly-specialized  flowers ;  and  thirdly,  for  the 
unusually  large  number  of  seeds  produced  in  one  capsule."  * 

Of  our  North  American  Orchids,  ten  species  are  identical 
with  those  found  in  Europe,  and  several  are  represented  either 
directly  or  by  allied  forms  in  Darwin's  "  Fertilization  of 
Orchids."  This  writer,  in  his  descriptions,  and  Professor  Gray, 
in  his  observations  on  American  species,f  have  told  their  fas- 
cinating stories  so   clearly  that   it   would  not  be  necessary  for 

*  "  The  Fertilization  of  Flowers." 
\  See  appended  Bibliography. 


IO  INTRODUCTION. 

me  sometimes,  in  quoting  from  both  authorities,  to  strip  the 
paragraphs  I  have  interwoven  still  further  of  their  technical 
language,  if  it  were  not  partly  my  aim  to  attract  those  well  dis- 
posed readers  who  are  ordinarily  discouraged  by  the  sight  of  a 
long  array  of  mysterious  words.  I  hope  that  enough  descrip- 
tive terms  have  been  taken  from  Gray's  Botany,  to  furnish 
what  would  not  be  obvious  from  an  inspection  of  the  illustra- 
tions, and  that  the  abridgment  of  quoted  passages  and  the  re- 
jection of  details  has  not  been  carried  too  far.  It  should  be 
added  that  terms  such  as  "  front,"  "  outside,"  "  lower,"  etc., 
are  not  always  used  in  the  strict  sense  in  which  they  are  em- 
ployed in  the  botanies. 

How  well  worthy  of  minute  examination  this  single  family 
is,  is  proved  by  Darwin's  modest  confession  after  twenty  years 
study,  that  he  doubted  if  he  thoroughly  understood  the  con- 
trivances in  any  one  flower.  This  has  a  discouraging  sound,  at 
first ;  for  the  possibility  of  discovering  anything  that  eluded 
his  eyes,  keen  as  those  of  the  hero  of  a  German  legend,  may 
well  be  questioned  ;  but  the  field  is  a  tempting  one  to  glean, 
and  as  few  investigations  have  been  made  in  America,  judging 
by  the  scarcity  of  printed  matter  relating  to  the  subject,  our 
humblest  species  still  mocks  us  with  its  secrets. 

In  speaking  of  the  Orchids  found  in  New  England  I  shall 
arrange  them  in  the  order  in  which  they  blossom  in  the  vicinity 
of  Burlington,  Vermont,  where  most  of  my  own  observations 
have  been  made,  and  shall  hope  to  make  my  calendar  service- 
able elsewhere,  as  my  arrangement  agrees  pretty  well  with  lists 
sent  me  from  other  sections.  Specific  dates  are  worth  con- 
sidering, it  seems  to  me,  although  one  cannot  rely  on  them, 
but  as  a  safer  guide,  especially  for  those  who  travel  during  the 
period  when  these  plants  are  in  flower,  let  me  say  that  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  a  plant  blossoming  in  Southern  Connecticut 
about  the  first  of  any  given  month  would  be  due  in  Western 
Vermont,  or   the   upper  Connecticut   valley   between  the  ioth 


IN  TROD  UC  HON.  1 1 


and  15th,  and  in  the  White  Mountains,  two  weeks  later  still; 
that  is,  in  low  or  moderately  elevated  land.  Between  Portland, 
Maine,  and  Moosehead  Lake,  there  is  thought  to  be  a  differ- 
ence of  at  least  two  weeks  in  plants  that  bloom  in  spring; 
*•  this  difference  lessening  as  the  hot  weather  comes  on."  The 
amateur  collector  will  find  that  it  makes  a  good  deal  of  differ- 
ence in  point  of  time,  whether  his  search  is  made  on  the  north 
or  south  side  of  an  elevation  ;  whether  in  shaded  or  open 
ground  ;  and,  moreover,  will  often  discover  that  the  county 
map  on  which  he  has  relied  is  of  little  use  in  locating 
"  stations,"  for  he  can  never  be  sure  that  the  plants  he  has  seen 
in  one  swamp  will  occur  in  a  corresponding  swamp  in  the 
next  township  ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  highly  probable  that 
species  abundant  on  one  side  of  a  mountain  range  will  en- 
tirely disappear  when  he  reaches  the  other  side.  In  the  case 
of  Eastern  Massachusetts,  to  give  a  clearer  illustration,  cer- 
tain Orchids  grow  within  thirty  miles  of  Boston,  but  one's 
success  in  getting  them  depends  chiefly  on  whether  he  meas- 
ures the  thirty  miles  north  or  south  of  the  city.  The  subtle 
influences  of  soil  and  climate  sometimes  contradict  one's 
learned  conjectures  very  unpleasantly. 

I  am  indebted  to  Professor  Gray  for  permission  to  make 
liberal  extracts  from  his  Manual,  to  Rev.  Henry  P.  Nichols 
of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  Dr.  N.  L.  Britton  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege, and  especially  to  my  friends  Henry  H.  Donaldson  and 
Frederick  H.  Horsford,  to  whom  this  work  is  informally  dedi- 
cated. 

ORCHIS  FAMILY  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

(Synopsis  from,  and  mainly  as  arranged  in  Gray's  Manual.) 

I.  Anther  only  one.  (The  2  cells  should  not  be  mistaken 
for  anthers !) 

Tribe  I.  OPHRYDE^.     Anther  (of  2  separate  cells)  borne 


j  2  IN  TK  ODVC  TION. 

on  and  entirely  adnate  to  the  face  of  the  stigma,  erect  or  re- 
clined. Pollen  cohering  into  a  great  number  of  coarse  grains, 
which  are  all  fastened  by  elastic  and  cobwebby  tissue  into  one 
large  mass  and  to  a  stalk  that  connects  it  with  a  gland  or  viscid 
disk  which  was  originally  a  part  of  the  stigma.  Flower  in  our 
species  ringent,  the  lip  with  a  spur  beneath :  one  distinct  gland 
to  each  pollen-mass. 

Genus  I.— Orchis.  The  two  glands,  or  viscid  disks,  enclosed 
in  a  common  pouch.  Sepals  and  petals  nearly  equal,  all  (in 
our  species)  converging  upwards  and  arching  over  the  column. 
Anther-cells  contiguous  and  parallel.  I  or  2  leaves  at  base  of 
scape.  Root  of  fleshy  fibres.  A  spike  of  several  flowers. 
O.  spcctdbilis,    0.  rotundifblia. 

2.  Habenaria.  The  two  glands  or  disks  naked  (without 
pouch  or  covering),  either  approximate  or  widely  separated : 
otherwise  nearly  as  in  true  Orchis :  the  lateral  sepals,  however, 
mostly  spreading.  Scape  I  or  2  leaved  at  base,  or  with  leafy, 
bracted  stems.  Root  a  cluster  of  fleshy  fibres,  or  tuberous 
thickened.     A  close  or  open  spike  of  numerous  flowers. 

H.  trident  at  a,  H.  vire'sccns,  H.  viridis  var.  bract  cat  a,  H. 
hvpcrbbrea,  H.  dilatata,  H.  obtusdta,  H.  Hodkeri,  H.  orbiculdta, 
H.  cilidris,  H.  blcphariglottis,  H.  lacera,  H.  psycbdcs,  H.  fim- 
briata. 

Tribe  II.  NEOTTIE^.  Anther  dorsal  and  erect  or  in- 
clined, attached  by  its  base  only  or  by  a  short  filament  to  the 
base  or  summit  of  the  column,  persistent.  Pollen  in  our  genera 
loosely  cohering  (mostly  by  some  delicate  elastic  threads)  in 
2  or  4  soft  masses,  and  soon  attached  directly  to  a  viscous 
gland  on  the  beak  of  the  stigma. 

3.  Goodyera.     Lip  entire,  free  from  the  column,  without  cal- 
losities at  the  base  ;  sac-shaped,  sessile.    Otherwise  as  in  Spiran- 
thes.     Leaves  clustered  at  base  of  scape.     Root  of  thick  fibres. 
A  spike  of  numerous  small  flowers. 
G.  repcns,  G.  pub/scens,  G.  Menziesii. 


IN  TR  OD  UC  TION.  1 3 

4.  Spiranthes.  Lip  ascending  and  embracing  the  column 
below,  2  callosities  at  the  base.  Flower  somewhat  ringent ; 
sepals  and  petals  all  narrow,  mostly  erect  or  connivent. 
Leaves  near  the  bottom  or  at  the  base  of  stem.  Roots  clustered — 
tuberous.     A  twisted  spike  of  numerous  small  flowers. 

5.  latifblia,  S.  Romanzoviana,  S.  cernna,  S.  graminea,  S. 
gracilis,  S.  simplex. 

5.  Listera.  Lip  flat,  spreading  or  pendulous,  2-lobed  at  the 
apex.  Sepals  and  petals  nearly  alike,  spreading  or  reflexed. 
A  pair  of  opposite  leaves  in  the  middle  of  the  stem.  Roots 
fibrous.     A  raceme  of  numerous  small  flowers. 

L.  cordata,  L.  convallarioides. 

Tribe  III.  ARETHUSE.E,  MALAXIDE^,  &c.  Anther 
terminal  and  inverted  (except  in  No.  11)  like  a  lid  over  the 
stigma,  deciduous. 

*  Pollen  powdery  or  pulpy,  in  2  or  4  delicate  masses  :    no  gland. 

6.  Arethusa.  Lip  bearded,  its  base  adherent  to  the  linear 
column.  Pollen  masses  4.  Flower  ringent  ,  sepals  and  petals 
nearly  alike,  united  at  base,  ascending  and  arching  over  the 
column.  Leaf  solitary.  Scape,  from  a  globular  solid  bulb, 
bearing  usually  a  single  flower. 

A.  bulbbsa. 

7.  Pogonia.  Lip  more  or  less  crested,  free  from  the  club- 
shaped  column.  Pollen  masses  2.  Flower  irregular  ;  sepals  and 
petals  separate.  A  single  leaf  in  the  middle  of  stem,  or 
several  either  alternate  or  in  a  whorl  at  the  summit.  Root  a 
cluster  of  fibres  or  oblong  tubers.  Flowers  solitary  or  few  in 
number. 

P.  ophioglossoldes,  P.  pendula,  P.  vertillata,  P.  affinis. 

8.  Calopogon.  Lip  bearded,  stalked,  free  :  column  winged  at 
the  apex.  Pollen  masses  4.  Flower  with  the  ovary  or  stalk 
not  twisting,  therefore  presenting  its  lip  on  the  upper  or  inner 
side.     Sepals  and  petals  nearly  alike,  spreading,  distinct.     A 


!4  INTRODUCTION 

single  leaf  at   base   of   scape.     A    small  solid  bulb.     A  scape 

of  several  flowers. 

C.  pulcJicllus. 

*  *  Pollen  in  4-8  smooth  waxy  masses. 

-*-  Without  stalks,  attached  directly  to  a  large  gland. 

9.  Calypso.  Lip  inflated  and  sac-like.  Column  winged  and 
petal-like.  Scape  1  -flowered.  Sepals  and  petals  nearly  similar, 
ascending,  spreading.  A  green  autumnal  leaf.  A  small  solid 
bulb. 

C.  bore  a  lis. 

-i — h-  With  stalks  to  the  2  or  4  pollen-masses,  connecting  them  with  a  gland. 

10.  Tipularia.  Lip  short,  flat,  long-spurred  beneath.  Raceme 
many  flowered.  Sepals  and  petals  spreading.  A  greenish 
autumnal  leaf.     A  large  solid  bulb. 

T.  discolor. 

-* 1 i-  Without  either  stalks  or  glands  to  the  4  pollen  masses. 

-M-  Plants  green  and  with  ordinary  leaves.     Sepals  spreading. 

11.  Micr6stylis.  Column  minute,  round  :  anther  erect.  Lip 
entire  or  nearly  so.  Sepals  and  petals  spreading.  A  single 
leaf  at  base  or  middle  of  stem.  A  small  solid  bulb.  A  raceme 
of  minute  flowers. 

M.  mo?tophyllos,  M.  ophioglossdldes. 

12.  Liparis.  Column  elongated,  margined  at  the  apex: 
anther  lid-like.  Lip  flat,  entire.  Sepals  and  petals  nearly 
equal.  2  root  leaves.  A  solid  bulb.  A  raceme  of  several 
flowers. 

L.  liliifblia,  L.  Lceselii. 

++  -M-  Plants  tawny  or  purplish,  leafless,  or  with  a  root-leaf  only. 

13.  Corallorhlza.  Perianth  gibbous  at  base,  or  with  a  spur 
adherent  to  the  ovary.  Perianth  somewhat  ringent.  Sepals 
and  petals  nearly  alike,  the  upper  arching.  Anther  lid-like. 
Lip  entire  or  deeply  lobed.  No  leaves.  Root-stocks  branched 
and  coral-like.     A  spiked  raceme  of  flowers. 

C.  inndta,  C.  odontorhlca,  C.  mult i flora. 


INTRODUCTION. 


1$ 


14.  Aplectrum.  Perianth  not  gibbous  nor  spurred  at  base. 
A  green  autumnal  leaf.  Lip  free  from  the  base  of  column. 
Otherwise  the  flowers  and  scape  as  in  Corallorhiza.  A  solid 
bulb  or  corm.     A  loose  raceme  of  several  flowers. 

A.  hycmale. 

II.  Anthers  two,  or  very  rarely  three. 

Tribe  IV.  CYPRIPEDIE^.  The  stamen  which  bears  the 
anther  in  the  rest  of  the  order  here  usually  forms  a  petal- like, 
sterile  appendage  to  the  column.  Pollen  not  in  masses :  no 
stalks  nor  gland. 

15.  Cypripedium.  Lip  an  inflated  sac.  Anthers  2,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  column.  Sepals  and  petals  spreading ;  the 
former  usually  broader  and  all  three  distinct,  or  in  most  cases 
two  of  them  united  into  one  under  the  lip.  Leaves  large,  many 
nerved  and  plaited,  sheathing  at  base.  Root  of  many  tufted 
fibres.     Flowers  solitary  or  few,  large  and  showy. 

C.  arietimun,  C.  parviflbriim,  C.  pubescens,  C.  spectdbile,  C. 
acaide. 

Aplectrum.  From  the  Greek  a  privative  and  itXrJKvpo  v,  a  spur,  from  the  total 
want  of  the  latter. 

Arethusa.     Name  from  the  nymph  Arethusa. 

Calopogon.  Greek,  uaXoS,  beautiful,  and  itooycov,  beard,  from  the  bearded 
lip. 

Calypso.     Name  from  the  goddess  Calypso. 

Corallorhiza.     Greek,  xopdXXiov,  coral,  and  pKoc,  root. 

Cypripedium.     Greek,  Kvitpi^,   Venus,  and  7t68iov,  a  sock  or  buskin. 

Goodyera.     Dedicated  to  John  Goodyer,  an  early  English  botanist. 

Gymnadenia.     Greek,  yvf.Lvoi,  naked,  and  ddr/v,  gland. 

Habenaria.  From  the  Latin  habena,  a  rein  or  strap,  in  allusion  to  the  shape  of 
the  lip  or  spur  of  some  species. 

Liparis.  Greek,  XirtapoS,  fat  or  shining,  in  allusion  to  the  shining  or  unctu- 
ous leaves. 

Listera.     Dedicated  to  Martin  Lister,  an  early  and  celebrated  British  naturalist. 

Malaxis.  From  a  Greek  word  meaning  "soft,"  in  allusion  to  the  smooth 
or  unctuous  leaves. 

Microstylis.     Greek,  jitixpoS  little,  and  drvXi1:,  a  column  or  style. 


lO  INTRODUCTION. 

Neottia.  Greek,  veottkx,  a  bird's  nest,  from  the  tangled  appearance  of  the  roots 
of  some  species. 

Orchis.  Dissolute  son  of  a  rural  deity,  changed  after  death  into  the  flower  bear- 
ing his  name. 

Platanthera.     Greek,  itXarvS,  wide,  and  dvOrjpd,  anther. 

Pogonia.  Greek,  n aoy ooviaS,  bearded,  from  the  lip  of  some  of  the  original 
species. 

Spiranthes.     Greek,  67t£ipa,  a  coil  or  curl,  and  arQo<s,  flower. 

Tipularia.  Name  from  a  fancied  resemblance  of  the  flowers  to  insects  of  the 
genus  Tip ula. 


^% 


fig.  3.— Showy  Orchis.     (Orchis  spectabilis.) 
Smaller  Two-lb avbd  Orchis.     (Habenaria  Hookeri.) 


THE  ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


There  are  those  who  maintain  that  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine the  period  when  spring  actually  arrives  in  New  England. 
There  are  days  early  in  May,  in  Northern  Vermont,  when  Lam 
almost  persuaded  that  I  feel  her  presence.  The  practical 
farmer,  recalling  the  precise  date  when  the  ice  in  the  lake  broke 
up,  or  when  he  sowed  his  grain,  rebukes  this  sentimental  lack 
of  faith,  and  the  birds  assert  their  satisfaction  in  more  poetical 
language.  If  Spring  did  not  summon  the  song-sparrows,  who 
did  ?  Why  have  the  blackbirds  been  pirating  about  for  weeks  ? 
The  hepaticas  are  "  passing  by,"  in  local  speech ;  the  wreaths  of 
bloodroot  around  the  boulders  by  the  roadsides  are  losing  their 
freshness ;  the  rocky  ledges  are  tufted  with  saxifrage  and  hous- 
tonia;  the  swelling  beech  buds  herald  the  downy  yellow  violet ; 
but  with  snowdrifts  still  visible  upon  the  mountains,  I  remain 
incredulous  until  the  middle  of  the  month,  when  the  season 
makes  haste  to  fulfil  its  promises.  The  south  wind,  puffing  as 
from  a  furnace  mouth,  sets  the  young  leaves  twinkling  on  their 
branches,  and  wafts  faint  perfumes  from  unknown  sources.  The 
ground  is  hot  to  the  touch.  You  can  trace  the  blossoming 
maples  along  the  hillsides  until  the  smoky  atmosphere  quenches 
their  brightness.  The  ferns,  as  some  one  once  described  them, 
are  coming  up  "  fist  first,"  and  trilliums  and  Canada  violets 
whiten  the  wooded  hillsides. 

In  my  rambles  at  this  time,  in  cool  upland  places,  I  expect  to 


20 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


find  little  green  cornucopias  pushing  their  way  up  here  and 
there,  from  a  cleft  and  fleshy  root,  each  composed  of  two  thick 
leaves  unlike  anything  else  in  character,  and  with  a  non-com- 
mittal   air    about    them,    certain    to    spread    generously    apart 

towards  the  end  of  the 
month,  and  offer  their  treas- 
ure :  a  low  stalk,  or  scape  of 
pinkish-purple  and  white 
flowers.  This  is  Orchis  sped- 
abilis,  the  Gay,  Showy,  or 
Spring  Orchis  ;  called,  in  the 
Middle  States,  "  Preacher  in 
the  Pulpit,"  the  anther-cells 
under  the  canopied  sepals 
and  petals  probably  suggest- 
ing two  clergymen  overshad- 
owed by  a  sounding-board, 
the  rostellum  representing 
their  pulpit.  Glad  as  I  am  to 
see  its  little  nosegays  dot- 
Fig.  4-Orchis  mascula.   {From  Darwin.)  ting  the  woods,  I  take  small 

ZZSL.  ;:pnon^,orponen-mas,  pleasure    in    gathering    the 

tSSL,  r^distfpSuxn.     Plant,    which    is    too    short 

A.  Side  view  of  flower,  all  the  petals  and  sepals    ^Q  j-^  grGuped  with  trilliums 
removed,  except  the  labellum,  of  which  the  near  half 

is  cut  away,  as  well  as  the  upper  portion  of  the  near    ancJ  bellwortS,  tOO  Coarse  tO 
side  of  the  nectary.  v    11  A 

B.  Front  view  of  flower,  sepals  and  petals  removed,    gO     With    mitellaS     and     VIO- 

"^pEK^cr  pollen-mass,  showingthe  pack-    lets  J  but  when  analysis  is  UU- 

ets  of  poiien-grains,  the  caudicie,  and  the  viscid  disc,   ^ertaken,  sentiment  quickly 

D.  Front  view  of  the  caudicles  of  both  pollinia  with 

the  discs  lying  within  the  rostellum,  its  lip  being  de-  gjves  way,  and  I   am  willing- 
pressed.  111        1 

E.  Section  through  one  side  of  the  rostellum,  with  ly     Compelled     to     hold     the 
the  included  disc  and  caudicie  of  one  pollinium,  lip  .  \  •    \ 
not  depressed.  SllOWy       OrchlS        111         high 

F.  Packets  of  pollen-grains,  tied  together  by  elas-  . 


ith    the     British 


tic  threads,  here  extended.    (Copied  from  Bauer.) 

Orchis    spcctabilis    agrees    pretty    closely 
Orchis  mascula,  and    I   use   Darwin's    account  of    the    manner 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  2I 

in  which  the  latter  is  fertilized,  as  retold  by  Prof.  Gray,* 
together  with  the  figures  that  accompany  the  original  de- 
scription. We  see  in  fig.  A,  above  the  entrance  to  the  spur- 
shaped  nectary,  the  two-lobed  stigma,  a  surface  so  sticky  as  to 
hold  fast  whatever  substance  touches  it  ;  dust,  insects  too 
feeble  to  detach  themselves,  or  the  pollen  that  should  properly 
be  placed  there.  Above  the  stigma  is  the  rostellum,  which  has 
assumed  the  shape  of  a  pouch  or  cup  ;  and  over  the  rostellum  is 
the  anther,  with  its  two  wallet-like  cells,  each  containing  a  tiny 
lump  of  pollen,  which  may  be  likened  to  an  exclamation  point, 
from  its  shape  and  the  surprising  things  it  does.  A  pollinium, 
or  pollen-mass,  consists  of  "  a  mass  of  coarse  grains  fastened 
together  by  elastic  and  cobwebby  tissue,"  a  tapering  caudicle  or 
stalk,  and  "  a  minute  piece  or  disc  of  membrane  with  a  ball  of 
viscid  matter  on  the  under  side."  These  two  discs  are  enclosed 
and  kept  moist  by  the  rostellum. 

"The  pollen,  although  placed  tantalizingly  close  to  the  stig- 
ma, is  incapable  of  reaching  it."  Nor  is  this  desirable,  as  "a 
stigma  is  more  sensitive  to  the  pollen  of  another  flower  than  to 
that  of  its  own,"  and  the  chief  object  of  the  peculiar  construc- 
tion of  these  flowers  is  to  secure  cross-fertilization.  The  first 
winged  visitor,  moth  or  butterfly,  attracted  to  the  newly  opened 
blossom,  very  likely  by  its  bright  colors,  now  comes  to  render 
aid,  and  unconsciously  pay  for  the  nectar  abstracted,  for  it  can 
hardly  reach  the  entrance  of  the  nectary  without  hitting  its 
head  or  proboscis  against  the  rostellum,  the  surface  of  which  is 
so  delicate  that  at  the  least  touch  "  it  ruptures  transversely 
along  the  top."  "  This  act  of  rupturing  changes  the  front  part 
of  the  rostellum  into  a  lip,  which  can  be  easily  depressed,"  and 
"when  thoroughly  depressed,  the  two  balls  of  viscid  matter 
are  exposed."  If  the  insect  alights  on  the  lip,  "its  best 
landing  place,"  it  will  naturally  face  the  opening  into  the  nec- 
tary as  it  crawls  up,  and  in   Orchis  spectabilis  the  sepals  and 

*  American  Journal  of  Science,  vol.  34,  II  Series. 


22  4  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

petals  shut  down  so  as  almost  to  compel  direct  approach. 
There  is  also  a  little  channel  along  the  lip,  which,  we  may 
suppose,  catches  and  guides  the  proboscis.  The  insect  will, 
therefore,  almost  invariably  touch  the  rostellum ;  this  will  rupt- 
ure, be  depressed,  and  one  or  both  exposed  viscid  balls  stick 
fast  "  to  the  intruding  body,  the  viscid  matter  setting  hard, 
and  dry,  like  a  cement,  in  a  few  minutes'  time.  The  firmness 
of  the  attachment  is  very  necessary,  for  if  the  pollinia  were 
to  fall  sideways  or  backwards  they  could  never  fertilize  the 
flower."  The  pollinia  would  thus  be  wrenched  from  their  cells, 
and  carried  away,  standing  out  "  like  horns  "  on  the  insect's  head, 
eyes,  or  proboscis.  The  lip  of  the  rostellum  swings  back  into 
place  "  when  pressure  is  removed,"  so  that  if  but  one  pollinium 
has  been  taken,  the  disc  of  the  remaining  one  is  kept  damp  and 
in  readiness  for  the  next  light-winged  guest. 

If  a  pollinium  remained  erect  on  the  insect,  it  would  strike 
above  the  stigma  of  the  next  flower  visited,  and  fail  of  its  pur- 
pose ;  but  by  a  curious  contraction  of  the  disc-like  membrane 
to  which  its  stalk  is  attached,  the  pollinium,  in  about  half  a  min- 
ute's time,  bends  downward,  "  always  in  one  direction,  viz., 
toward  the  apex  of  the  proboscis."  Supposing  the  insect  to 
occupy  this  amount  of  time  in  passing  to  another  plant,  "  the 
pollinium  will  have  become  so  bent  that  its  broad  end  will 
exactly  strike  the  stigmatic  surface  of  the  next  blossom,"  and 
in  case  all  the  pollen  is  not  torn  off,  enough  will  be  left  to  fer- 
tilize several  other  stigmas.  In  O.  mascula  (and  presumably  in 
our  own  Orchis)  the  nectar  is  not  "  free,"  but  contained  be- 
tween the  inner  and  outer  membranes  of  the  spur,  and  as  Mr. 
Darwin  explains,  "  as  the  viscid  matter  of  the  disc  sets  hard  in 
a  few  minutes  when  exposed  to  the  air,  it  is  manifest  that 
insects  must  be  delayed  in  sucking  the  nectar,  by  having  to 
bore  through  several  points  of  the  inner  membrane  and  to  suck 
the  nectar  from  the  inter-cellular  spaces,  time  being  thus 
allowed  for  the  disc  to  become  immovably  fixed." 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  23 

Miiller's  stupendous  work,  The  Fertilization  of  Flowers  (it  has 
recently  been  translated  from  the  German)  gives  very  clear  and 
plausible  reasons  for  the  concealment  of  the  u*-*^- 
pollen  and  the  peculiar  formation  of  the 
nectaries  in  plants,  and  I  am  sure  it  will 
add  to  the  reader's  pleasure  in  studying  the 
Showy  Orchis  if  I  insert  some  extracts. 

"Freely  exposed,  pollen    is  liable  to   be  Fig.5._Head  0f,-moth, 
spoilt  by  rain,  devoured  by  flies  and  beetles,        a  com  i a      luctuo**, 

y  '  with   pollen-masses    at- 

or  carried  away   by  pollen-collecting  bees.        tached  to  its  proboscis. 

Pollinium  removed    by 

Of  these   contingencies,  the    first   is  wholly        a  pencil  and  before  un- 

dergoing- the  movement 

an  evil,  the  second  becomes  advantageous  Gf  depression.  (Both 
if  any  considerable  amount  of  pollen  is 
conveyed  to  the  stigma,  and  the  third  almost  always  results 
in  fertilization,  and  is  therefore  altogether  advantageous. 
Concealment  of  the  pollen,  as  of  the  honey,  must  have  been 
brought  about,  in  the  first  place,  as  a  protection  from  rain. 
Since  with  this  advantage  comes  the  disadvantage  that  the 
sheltered  pollen  is  less  likely  to  be  touched  and  placed  on  the 
stigma  by  insect  visitors,  concealment  of  the  stamens  has  not 

become  general And  all  flowers  with  hidden  anthers 

have  only  been  able  to  shelter  their  pollen  from  rain  in  so  far 
as  they  have  developed  other  adaptations  for  particular  visitors, 
which  compensate  for  the  less  general  access  of  pollen-carrying 
insects.  For  this  reason,  flowers  with  hidden  pollen  (Orchids, 
for  instance)  afford  the  most  conspicuous  examples  of  adapta- 
tion in  form  and  in  dimensions  to  a  more  or  less  narrow  circle 
of  visitors.  But  the  more  perfectly  flowers  are  adapted  for 
cross-fertilization  by  particular  insects,  the  more  unlikely  does, 
it  become  that  other  insects  visiting  the  flowers  will  effect  . 
cross-fertilization,  and  the  more  will  such  visits  of  other  insects 
be  useless  or  injurious.  So  concealment  of  the  pollen  is  useful 
(to  a  subsidiary  degree)  in  limiting  insect  visitors. 
The  mechanism  is  so  perfect  and  so  effectual  in  these  flowers, 


24  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

that  cross-fertilization   is  thoroughly  insured,  though  Orchids 
offer  sap  only  to  their  visitors." 

"  Species  with  a  short  and  not  very  narrow  nectary,"  says 
Darwin,  "  are  fertilized  by  bees  and  flies  ;  those  with  a  much 
elongated  nectary,  or  one  having  a  very  narrow  entrance,  by 
butterflies  and  moths."  "  The  concealment  of  the  honey  in  a 
nectary,  protected  by  other  parts  of  the  flower,"  says  Miiller, 
"protects  the  honey  from  rain,  and  permits  a  larger  supply  to 
be  accumulated,  thus  attracting  visitors  in  an  increased  degree." 
With  these  disadvantages :  "  The  honey  is  the  less  easily  dis- 
covered the  more  it  is  protected,  so  that  a  great  host  of  the 
less  acute  visitors  are  excluded ;  and  the  more  intelligent 
visitors  which  are  able  to  detect  it,  cannot  obtain  it  so  quickly 
as  if  it  were  more  exposed,  so  that  the  work  of  fertilization 
goes  on  more  slowly."  But  "  exclusion  of  the  multitude  of 
less  intelligent  short-lipped  visitors  is  only  injurious  so  long  as 
more  specialized  visitors  are  not  abundant  enough  to  accom- 
plish all  the  work  of  fertilization,"  and  "  delay  in  this  work, 
owing  to  concealment  of  the  honey,  is  diminished  by  a  great  i 
variety  of  contrivances,  and  sometimes  entirely  removed,  .  .  . 
pathfinders  (colored  spots  or  lines)  point  towards  the  honey, 
and  enable  the  more  intelligent  visitors  to  find  it  in  a  moment  \ 
delay  in  obtaining  deeply-placed  honey  is  lessened  by  the 
development  of  convenient  standing-places,  of  apertures  spe- 
cially fitted  for  the  insect's  head  or  proboscis,"  etc.  He 
supposes  that  "  the  first  honey-yielding  flowers  exposed  their 
honey  on  flat  surfaces,  and  that  the  first  flower-visiting  insects 
were  only  furnished  with  organs  capable  of  licking  up  freely 
exposed  honey.  Under  these  circumstances,  elongation  of  the 
proboscis  would  be  of  no  advantage  to  any  insect,  but  shelter 
from  rain  and  increased  room  for  accumulating  honey  would 
be  beneficial  to  the  plant,  even  before  insects  became  divided 
into  short-tongued  and  long-tongued."  With  these  changes  in 
the  structure   of  the  plant,   it   came   to   pass  that   only  those 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


25 


dependent  insects  possessing  proboscides  long  enough  to  reach 
the  honey  survived. 

Here  let  me  quote  from  Darwin  the  passage  previously 
alluded  to  (he  is  speaking  of  the  Angrcecum,  a  Madagascar 
Orchid) :  "  As  certain  moths  became  larger,  through  natural 
selection,  .  .  .  or  as  the  proboscis 
alone  was  lengthened  to  obtain 
honey  from  the  Angraecum  and 
other  deep  tubular  flowers,  those 
individual  plants  of  the  Angraecum 
which  had  the  longest  nectaries 
(and  the  nectary  varies  much  in 
length  in  some  Orchids),  and  which 

Fig.  6.— Showy  Orchis.— Front  view  of 
Consequently    Compelled    the    moths  flower,  and  ripened  seed  vessels. 

to  insert  their  proboscides  up  to  the  very  base  (for  then  only 
would  the  pollen  be  removed),  would  be  the  best  fertilized. 
These  plants  would  yield  most  seed,  and  the  seedlings  would 
generally  inherit  long  nectaries  ;  and  so  it  would  be  in  suc- 
cessive generations  of  the  plant  and  of  the  moth,"  a  race,  as 
he  puts  it,  between  nectary  and  proboscis,  and  this  pleasing 
theory,  very  likely,  may  apply  to  the  long  nectaries  of  some  of 
the  species  included  in  the  present  treatise,  the  Habenarias,  for 
example. 

I  doubt  if  the  Showy  Orchis  would  gain  anything  by  a 
modification  of  structure  ;  certainly  not  in  the  matter  of  fer- 
tilization, if  my  experience  is  the  common  one;  for  I  rarely 
come  across  a  plant  that  has  gone  but  of  flower  that  has  not 
developed  all  its  ovaries.  This  Orchis  grows  so  low  that  it 
must  be  visited  by  many  kinds  of  small  insects ;  the  short  spur 
would  appear  to  tempt  even  those  that  would  not  naturally 
come  to  it ;  and  as  there  are  but  a  few  blossoms  to  a  spike,  the 
insect  cannot  be  as  fastidious  as  where  there  are  many  to 
choose  from.  The  character  of  the  root  has  already  been 
described;   but  I   have  lately  read   Prof.  Meehan's  chapter  on 


2 5  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

this  plant  in  Native  Flowers  and  Ferns,  and  transfer  his  inter- 
esting statement,  that  while  "  most  of  the  true  Orchises  of 
Europe  have  a  tuberous  root  in  addition  to  their  fibres,  our 
species  has  fleshy  fibres  only." 

The  few  who  have  found  the  Showy  Orchis  in  Maine  tell  me 
that  it  does  not  bloom  before  June  in  that  State,  and  even 
then  is  preceded  by  two  other  Orchids,  but  May  is  its  time  in 
Massachusetts,  and  in  Connecticut,  where  it  has  been  gathered 
as  early  as  May  3d  ;  and  as  we  rarely  fail  to  get  it  the  third 
week  of  the  month  in  Vermont,  I  think  it  may  rightly  be  said 
to  open  the  Orchid  season.  The  Stemless,  or  Pink  Lady's 
Slipper,  Cypripedium  acaule  (C.  kumileoi  the  old  writers)  presses 
it  so  closely,  however,  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  wonderment 
when  I  secure  them  both  on  the  same  day.  The  latter,  known 
better,  perhaps,  as  "  Moccasin  Flower,"  "  Venus'  Slipper  " — 
names  applied  to  the  other  species  as  well — "  Indian  Mocca- 
sin," "  Old  Goose,"  "  Camel's  Foot,"  "  Noah's  Ark"  (the  last 
two  popular  names  are  probably  rarely  heard  out  of  the  Mid- 
dle States),  represents  the  other  extreme  of  the  Orchis  family, 
and  Mr.  Darwin  held,  as  late  as  1877  certainly,  when  the  sec- 
ond edition  of  his  "  Fertilization  of  Orchids "  was  published, 
his  original  opinion  that  "  the  single  genus  Cypripedium  differs 
from  all  other  Orchids  far  more  than  any  other  two  of  them  do 
from  each  other,"  adding,  "  an  enormous  amount  of  extinction 
must  have  swept  away  a  multitude  of  intermediate  forms,  and  left 
this  genus,  now  widely  distributed,  as  a  record  of  a  former  and 
more  simple  state  of  the  great  Orchidean  order."  Mr.  George 
Bentham,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Linnaean  Society  of  Lon- 
don in  1 88 1,  took  the  opposite  side,  saying:  "The  importance 
of  the  single  character  (the  possession  of  more  than  one  an- 
ther) separating  the  Cypripediae  from  Orchids  generally  has 
fallen  so  much  in  estimated  value  that  they  have  by  common 
consent  been  reunited  with  that  order  as  a  distinct  tribe  only." 

"The   single   anther,"  says   Darwin,  "  which  is  present   in   all 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


2/ 


other  Orchids,  is  rudimentary  in  Cypripedium,  and  is  repre- 
sented by  a  singular  shield-like  projecting  body"  conspicu- 
ously placed  just  over  the  lip.  The  fertile  anthers  which  sup- 
ply its  deficiencies  lie  back  of  it,  one  on  either  side  of  the  short, 
bent  column,  and  each  bearing  two  small  oval  cells.  These 
anthers  "  belong  to  an  inner  whorl  or  circle,  and  are  repre- 
sented in  ordinary  Orchids  by  various  rudiments.     There  is  no 


Fig.  7. — Cypripedium. 

x.  Ripened  seed-vessel  of  Smaller  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper. 

2.  Front  view  of  same  flower.     a,  a,  anthers  ;  a',  sterile  stamen ;    s,  s,  s,  sepals ;  A  A 

petals  ;  /',  labellum  ;  en,  entrance. 

3.  Side  view  of  organs  of  Showy  Lady's  Slipper  ;  si,  stigma. 

4.  Root  of  Lady's  Slipper. 

5-6.  (From  Muller.)  Essential  organs  in  C.  calceolus  seen  from  belcw.  Flower  in  longitudinal 
section  after  removal  of  sepals  and  superior  petals  ;  lip  bent  slightly  downward  ;  ovt 
ovary;  ex,  exit. 

rostellum,  for  all  three  stigmas  are  fully  developed,"  though  so 
united  as  to  appear  as  one  body,  and  this,  also  shield-shaped, 
lies  behind  and  concealed  by  the  rudimentary  anther,  and  is 
only  slightly  viscid.  The  pollen  has  no  stalk  or  disc,  but  is 
"  loose  and  pulpy  or  powdery,"  and,  where  it  is  exposed  by  the 
opening  of  the  cells,  sticky,  so  that  it  is  often  carried  off  either 
bodily  or  piecemeal."  There  is  no  nectar  in  the  lip,  but  "  the 
inner  surface  is  coated  with  hairs,  the  tips   of   which  secrete 


28  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

little  drops  of  slightly  viscid  fluid."  "  Insects  such  as  flies/' 
says  Gray,  "  may  enter  the  flower  by  one  of  the  side  openings, 
and  so  take  a  load  of  pollen  upon  the  back  of  the  head  as  they 
pass  under  the  anther,  which  they  would  rub  against  the 
stigma,  since  they  must  crawl  directly  under  it  (to  get  at  the 
hairs\  and,  escaping  by  the  opening  under  the  other  anther, 
they  would  carry  off  some  of  its  pollen  to  the  flower  of  the 
next  plant  visited  ;  but  they  ordinarily  go  in  by  the  front 
entrance  (even  in  C.  acaule),  crawl  under  the  ample  face  of  the 
stigma  as  they  feed,  rubbing  their  heads  or  backs  against  it, 
and,  passing  on,  make  their  exit  by  one  of  the  side  openings, 
which  now  become  visible  to  them,  almost  inevitably  carrying 
off  pollen  as  they  escape,  which  they  would  convey  to  the 
stigma  of  the  next  flower.  The  stigma,  instead  of  being 
smeared  with  glutinous  matter,  as  in  ordinary  Orchids,  is 
closely  beset  with  minute,  rigid,  sharp-pointed  papillae  or  pro- 
tuberances, all  directed  forwards,"  and  these  comb  off  the  pol- 
len from  the  insect. 

All  of  our  five  species  of  Lady's  Slipper  have  fibrous  roots, 
but  C.  acaule  differs  in  not  having  a  leafy  stalk, — its  pinkish, 
veined,  and  fissured  lip  being  swung  on  a  slender  scape.  "  The 
stem,"  as  Prof.  Goodale  says,  "  is  really  present,  although  con- 
cealed underground  and  often  disguised  by  assuming  the  shape 
of  a  thickened  root."  That  ingenious  but  much  disputed 
English  writer,  Grant  Allen,*  believes  that  where  plants  have 
little  competition  they  produce,  as  a  rule,  such  large,  coarse, 
entire  leaves  as  are  borne  by  our  Lady's  Slippers;  but  where 
they  grow  in  thickets  or  in  the  grass,  as  many  of  our  other 
Orchids  do,  and  the  struggle  for  food,  air,  and  sunshine  is 
fierce,  the  leaves  are  forced  to  become  slender  and  subdivided 
in  order  to  obtain  their  share.  The  variety  in  the  shapes  of 
the  leaves  of  our  Orchids  will  give  the  reader  a  good  opportu- 

*  "  The  Forms  of  Leaves,"  Nature^  March,  1883. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  2Q 

nity  of  proving  Mr.  Allen's  hypothesis,  especially  if  he  studies 
the  plants  as  they  grow. 

Whether  a  Lady's  Slipper  comes  from  New  England,  Sibe- 
ria, or  the  Tropics,  its  lip,  or  labellum,  as  this  part  is  usually 
called,  is  its  most  picturesque  feature,  and  I  do  not  think  that 
any  one  who  ever  saw  that  of  C.  acaule  could  soon  forget  it.  A 
countryman  once  described  it  to  me  as  blue,  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  that  is  the  only  color  Orchids  are  not  allowed  to 
wear.  The  botanist  Pursh  speaks  of  "  its  delicate  and  expres- 
sive purple,"  while  Barton,  in  his  Flora  of  North  America,  calls 
the  petals  "  siskin  green,"  and  shows  a  better  perception  of 
color  than  botanists  generally  do,  though,  in  truth,  the  sepals 
and  petals  vary  as  much  as  the  lip,  and  are  often  of  a  deep 
purplish  or  reddish  brown.  All  flowers  of  a  pink  hue  exhibit 
white  varieties,  and  C.  acaule  is  not  uncommonly  met  with  in 
this  garb,  as  in  the  Franconia  Valley ;  Essex  Co.,  Mass. ;  Knox 
and  Penobscot  Cos.,  Maine;  and  in  the  last-named  State  Miss 
Kate  Furbish  discovered  and  reported  in  the  American  Nat- 
uralist two  perfect  blossoms  growing  back  to  back  on  the 
same  plant — a  freak  repeated  the  following  year  in  the  White 
Mountains.  Meehan,  in  Native  Flozvers  and  Ferns*  gives  a 
plate  representing  a  plant  with  two  buds.  This  species  is  as 
variable  in  size  as  in  color.  T.  W.  Higginson,  in  Outdoor 
Papers  characterizes  it  as  "  high  bred,"  and  says  he  never  can 
resist  the  feeling  that  each  specimen  is  a  rarity,  even  when 
he  finds  a  hundred  to  an  acre. 

In  early  springs,  this  Lady's  Slipper  sometimes  appears  the 
first  week  in  May  in  Southern  Maine.  June  I  has  been  sent 
me,  on  good  authority,  as  the  average  date  for  Essex  Co., 
Mass.  Thoreau,  giving  a  specific  date  with  his  well-known 
dictum,  "Cypripedium  not  due  till  to-morrow,"  expected  it  at 
Concord  on  the  20th  of  May,  and  it  is  about  that  date  when  I 

*  2d  Series. 


30  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

have  been  accustomed  to  hunt  for  it  in  the  pine  woods  of  East 
Hartford,  Conn.,  my  signal  and  guide-post  being  the  pretty 
little  Fringed  Polygala.  A  lady  familiar  with  it  as  it  grows  in 
the  Adirondacks  assures  me  that  she  most  often  meets  with  it 
where  pines  have  fallen.  "  It  seems  to  have  a  great  fondness 
for  decaying  wood ;  and  I  often  see  a  whole  row  perched  like 
birds  along  a  crumbling  log."  Gray  rather  restricts  it  to  "  dry 
or  moist  woods,  under  evergreens,"  for  which  he  is  corrected 
by  Meehan,  who  says :  "  its  general  place  of  growth  is  in  woods 
of  deciduous  trees,"  and,  for  myself,  I  know  that  sandy  soil 
and  pines  and  shade  are  not  indispensable  to  its  welfare :  the 
finest  specimens  I  ever  saw  sprang  out  of  cushions  of  crisp  rein- 
deer moss  high  up  among  the  rocks  of  an  exposed  hill-side, 
and  again  I  have  found  it  growing  vigorously  in  almost  open 
swamps,  but  nearly  colorless  from  excessive  moisture.  This 
is,  perhaps,  an  unusual  place  for  it,  as  would  appear  from  the 
last  verse  of  a  pathetic  poem  I  have  read  detailing  the  strug- 
gles of  an  ardent  botanist :  * 

"  The  mud  was  on  his  shoon,  and  O 
The  brier  was  in  his  thumb  ; 
His  staff  was  in  his  hand,  but  not 
The  Cypripedium." 

Elaine  Goodale  has  put  her  impressions  of  this  flower  in  the 
following  verses  (she  represents  the  azaleas  as  blooming  at  the 
same  time),  and,  it  will  be  seen,  makes  it  an  upland  flower: 

Stately  and  calm  the  forest  rears  its  crown 

Above  the  eternal  height, — 
Wide  sweeps  of  early  color,  shimmering  down, 

Renew  its  gracious  might  ! 

Shy  and  proud  among  the  forest  flowers, 

In  maiden  solitude, 
Is  one  whose  charm  is  never  wholly  ours 

Nor  yielded  to  our  mood. 

*  Ye  Lay  of  ye  Woodpeckore,  Odds  and  Ends,  Henry  A.  Beers. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  oj 

One  true-born  blossom,  native  to  our  skies, 

We  dare  not  claim  as  kin, 
Nor  frankly  seek,  for  all  that  in  it  lies, 

The  Indian's  Moccasin. 
Graceful  and  tall  the  slender  drooping  stem, 

With  two  broad  leaves  below, 
Shapely  the  flower  so  lightly  poised  between, 

And  warm  her  rosy  glow. 
Yet  loneliest  rock-strewn  haunts  are  all  her  bent, 

She  heeds  no  soft  appeal, 
And  they  alone  who  dare  a  rude  ascent 

Her  equal  charm  may  feel. 
We  long  with  her  to  leave  the  beaten  road, 

The  paths  that  cramp  our  feet, 
And  follow  upward  thro'  the  tangled  wood, 

By  highways  cool  and  sweet; 

From  dewy  glade  to  bold  and  rugged  steep 

Pass  fleet  as  winds  and  showers, 

•  •••.....• 

With  careless  joy  we  thread  the  woodland  ways 

And  reach  her  broad  domain. 
Thro'  sense  of  strength  and  beauty  free  as  air, 

We  feel  our  savage  kin  ; 
And  thus  alone,  with  conscious  meaning,  wear 

The  Indian's  Moccasin!  "* 

I  was  once  on  the  point  of  throwing  away  some  Pink  Lady's 
Slippers  I  had  gathered,  they  had  become  so  wilted  by  the  sun, 
when  it  occurred  to  me  to  try  a  means  of  restoration  that  had 
been  successful  in  the  case  of  other  flowers,  and,  selecting  the 
most  discouraged  one  of  the  bunch,  I  put  it  in  a  glass  of  almost 
boiling  water.  The  pouch  was  a  shapeless  mass,  and  part  of 
the  scape  shrivelled  and  black,  but  in  the  course  of  an  hour 
I  returned  to  behold  the  scape  stiff  and  green  and  the  pouch 
swelled  out  to  its  original  size.  ♦ 

The  Downy,  or  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper,  C.  pubescens,  which 
has  a  pretty  local  name,  "  Whip-poor-Will  Shoe,"  and   comes 

*  In  Berkshire  with  the  Wild  Flowers 


^2  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND, 

close,  according  to  Professor  Gray,  to  C.  calccolus,  of  Northern 
Europe,  itself  known  in  France  as  "  Sabot  de  la  Vierge  "  and 
"  Soulier  de  Notre  Dame,"  will  display  its  bright  yellow  blos- 
som a  few  days  later,  its  broad,  alternate  leaves  contrasting 
finely  with  the  more  delicate  foliage  about  it.  The  labellum  is 
flattish  on  the  sides,  exhibits  slight  inequalities  of  surface 
(which  in  C.  calccolus,  if  the  pictures  of  that  species  I  have 
seen  are  correct,  become  decided  folds  or  ridges),  and  often  de- 
velops quite  a  pointed  toe.  There  is  no  fissure  in  front  such  as 
we  see  in  the  Pink  Lady's  Slipper.  The  labellum  of  C.  pu- 
bcsccns  retains  its  color  very  well  in  a  pressed  state  and  the 
shape  may  be  kept  by  inserting  a  little  cotton.  "  All  parts  of 
a  flower,"  says  Meehan,  "were  originally  designed  by  nature  to 
be  ordinary  green  leaves,  and  it  was  only  by  a  subsequent  plan 
that  she  altered  them  into  sepals,  petals,  etc.,  and  it  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  when  she  goes  to  work  on  this  change  of 
leaves  to  flowers,  she  generally  carries  along  some  peculiarities 
especially  belonging  to  the  leaves.  Now  in  the  usual  forms 
of  the  Larger  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper  we  find  the  leaves  very 
much  undulated,  botanically  speaking,  or  with  wavy  and 
twisted  margins  ;  and  it  is  in  these  cases  where  they  are  the 
most  waved  that  we  have  the  greatest  twisting  of  the  floral 
segments." 

I  sometimes  find  this  species  under  evergreens,  but  its  pref- 
erence is  for  maples,  beeches,  and  particularly  butternuts,  and 
for  sloping  or  hilly  ground,  and  I  always  look  with  glad  sus- 
picion at  a  knoll  covered  with  ferns,  cohoshes  and  trilliums, 
expecting  to  see  a  clump  of  this  plant  among  them.  Its  sen- 
tinel-like habit  of  choosing  "  sightly  places  "  leads  it  to  venture 
well  up  on  mountain  sides,  and  I  am  often  startled  when  climb- 
ing a  gloomy,  moss-draped  cliff  by  coming  face  to  face  with 
one  of  its  colonies.  In  Holmes'  novel,  Elsie  Vcnncr,  the  hero- 
ine brings  her  school-teacher  a  "  rare,  Alpine  flower,"  and  Hig- 
ginson   supposes   it   to   have  been  the  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper, 


IIIIP 


Fig.  8.— Pink  Lady's  Slipper.     (Cypripedium  acaule.) 

Ram\s-head.     fC  arietinum.) 

Small  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper.     (C.  parviflorum.) 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  35 

knowing  well  the  locality  referred  to,  with  "  its  precipitous 
walls  of  rock."  The  very  flower  one  would  select  to  figure  in 
a  weird  story,  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  afterwards  described  as 
"  a  little  delicate  thing  that  looked  as  if  it  were  made  to 
press,"  and  I  reluctantly  conclude  that  the  writer  fashioned 
his  plant  to  suit  himself  or  had  something  very  different  in  his 
mind. 

In  experimenting  with  this  genus,  Darwin  discovered  that  C. 
calceolus,  "  in  a  state  of  nature  "  depended  "  on  bees  belonging 
to  five  species  of  the  genus  Andrena"  and  selecting  one  of 
these  bees,  of  very  small  size,  he  gave  it  a  blossom  of  C.  pn- 
bescens  to  work  upon.  The  insect  entered  by  the  upper  opening 
and  attempted  "  to  crawl  out  the  same  way,  but  always  fell 
backwards,  owing  to  the  margins  being  inflected.  The  pol- 
ished inner  sides,"  he  thinks  may  also  have  been  a  hindrance, 
and  so  the  labellum  acted  "  like  a  trap,"  such  as  is  made  in  our 
kitchens  by  pasting  a  paper  over  the  mouth  of  a  tumbler,  cut- 
ting slits  in  the  paper  and  turning  the  edges  in.  Flies  have  no 
trouble  in  getting  at  the  contained  liquid,  but  are  rarely  able 
to  escape.  "  The  bee  could  not  creep  out  through  the  slit  be- 
tween the  folded  edges  of  the  labellum,  as  the  elongated,  tri- 
angular, rudimentary  stamen  here  closes  the  passage.  Ulti- 
mately it  forced  its  way  out  through  one  of  the  small  orifices 
close  to  one  of  the  anthers,  and  was  found  when  caught,  to  be 
smeared  with  the  glutinous  pollen."  When  put  back,  several 
times,  it  climbed  out  in  the  same  way,  and  the  stigma  was  fer- 
tilized as  we  saw  in  the  Pink  Lady's  Slipper.  "  Thus  the  use  of 
all  parts  of  the  flower, — the  inflected  edges,  or  the  polished 
inner  sides, — the  two  orifices  and  their  position  close  to  the 
anthers  and  stigma, — the  large  size  of  the  rudimentary  stamen, 
— are  rendered  intelligible."  "  The  hairs,"  says  Midler,  speak- 
ing of  C.  calceolus,  "  which  are  arranged  in  a  broad  band  on  the 
floor  of  the  labellum,  seem  to  help  the  bees  to  climb  up  toward 
the     orifices,    besides     attaching    them    by    their    secretions. 


36 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


Smaller  bees  and  flies  which  are  too  large  to  pass  freely 
through  the  orifice  and  too  weak  to  force  their  sides  apart, 
must  as  a  rule  perish  of  hunger  within  the  labellum.  Small 
beetles  are  often  able  to  crawl  freely  out,  but  sometimes  they 
are  held  fast  by  the  sticky  pollen  and  remain  to  perish." 

A  valuable  contribution  to  the  study  of  our  Lady's  Slippers 
has  been  sent  me  by  Professor  Trelease  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  who  writes:  "In  C. pubescens, parvifloriun,  and  can- 
didum  (a  small  white  species  not  found  in  New  England)  there 
is  a  variable  number  (1-4)  of  crescent-shaped  or  irregular  trans- 
lucent spots  on  the  back  of  the  labellum,  which  readily  catch 
the  eye  of  an  imprisoned  bee  (Halicta,  Augochlorci),  and  lead  in 
back  under  the  stigma,  whence  it  sees  the  light  through  the 
small  opening  under  the  anther  at  either  side,  and  makes  its 
exit  there.  Small  bees  introduced  into  the  labellum  usually 
went  direct  to  these  thin  places ;  failing  to  get  out  there  they 
went  on  to  its  regular  exit  openings.  The  labellum  is  so  trans- 
lucent throughout  in  all  my  herbarium  specimens  of  C.  aric- 
tinum,  spcctabilc  and  acaiilc,  that  I  cannot  say  whether  these 
species  have  the  same  character  ;  a  number  of  conservatory 
species  that  I  have  observed,  do  not." 

C.  pubescens  has  what  Burroughs  calls  "  a  heavy,  oily  odor," 
and  is  less  pleasing  than  the  Small  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper,  C. 
parviflorum,  opening  about  this  time  in  swampy  places.  This 
species,  though  rarer,  is  more  widely  diffused  throughout  North 
America,  according  to  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  who  adds  to  his  de- 
scription of  C.  pubescens,  without  giving  his  authority,  the 
statement  that  "  its  rhizome  or  root-stock  replaces  the  Valerian 
as  an  anti-spasmodic,  in  the  estimation  of  Anglo-Americans." 
Some  hesitate  to  call  the  Small  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper  a  dis- 
tinct species,  but  its  dwarf  size,  richer  color,  curiously  twisted 
petals  and  decided  perfume  easily  gain  it  the  precedence  in 
favor  with  those  who  care  for  externals  only.  The  lip  is 
smoother  on   the  outside  and  flatter  above  than  that  of  the 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  37 

larger  species.  The  Pink  and  the  Showy  Lady's  Slippers  have 
two  of  their  sepals  "  united  into  one,  under  the  lip,"  while  both 
Yellow  Lady's  Slippers  have  the  united  sepals,  "  cleft  at  the 
apex." 

In  Northern  New  England,  one  is  sometimes  fortunate 
enough  to  gather  with  the  Yellow  Lady's  Slippers,  especially 
with  the  dwarf  species,  the  Ram's-head  Lady's  Slipper,  C. 
arietinum,  the  rarest  species  North  America  produces,  and  to 
me  the  most  attractive;  a  small  plant,  perhaps  a  foot  high, 
with  dark  green  leaves  and  a  fragrant,  purplish-pink  and 
white,  veined  lip,  which  has  a  hairy,  triangular  orifice  and  is 
small  enough  to  be  put  into  a  child's  thimble.  Far  fetched  as 
the  popular  name  appears  to  be,  the  reader  will  notice  if  he 
holds  the  page  containing  the  illustration  of  this  flower  in  a  cer- 
tain position  that  the  protuberant  lip  has  a  slight  resemblance 
to  a  nose,  and  that  the  curving  petals— often  decidedly  curled- 
may  be  fancied  to  represent  the  animal's  horns.  The  sterile 
stamen  is  blunter  than  in  the  other  species  and  the  three 
sepals  are  separate.  "  This  Lady's  Slipper,"  says  Meehan,  "  is 
a  connecting  link  between  Cypripedium  and  other  genera  of  the 
Orchis  family.  In  many  Orchids  the  outer  whorl  of  three  (the 
calyx  in  other  flowers)  can  be  readily  traced  ;  but  it  is  one  of 
the  peculiarities  of  Cypripedium  to  have  apparently  but  two. 
...  As  this  union  of  the  sepals  was  formerly  considered  one 
of  the  chief  foundations  of  the  genus  Cypripedium,  some  bot- 
anists made  this  (Ram's-head)  into  a  distinct  genus,  on  account 
of  its  three-leaved  calyx,  under  the  name  of  Arietinum  Ameri- 
canum." 

This  little  flower  has  been  known  to  botanists  only  since 
about  1 808,  when  it  was  discovered  near  Montreal.  It  has  been 
reported  from  the  Saskatchawan  Valley,  from  Minnesota  and 
from  Nebraska ;  in  New  England  it  is  so  rare,  except  in  the 
extreme  north,  that  many  a  collector  who  has  it  in  an  her- 
barium   has    never    seen    it    growing,    and    it    is    so    incon- 


38 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


spicuous,  even  when  it  grows  in  clumps,  that  one  may  have 
minute  directions  given  him  and  yet  be  unable  to  put  finger 
upon  it  at  once.  The  Ram's-head  does  not  confine  itself  to 
low  or  damp  ground,  but  is  sometimes  met  with,  in  Vermont  at 
least,  on  dry  hill-sides  at  the  feet  of  pines.  I  strongly  suspect 
that  some  elf,  refused  a  night's  lodging  in  the  cradle  of  a  Pink 
Lady's  Slipper,  and  faring  no  better  on  application  to  a  Yellow 
Lady's  Slipper,  originated  the  pert  little  Ram's-head  as  a  cari- 
cature of  both. 

The  musky  smell  possessed  by  many  Orchids,  and  used,  it  is 
supposed,  to  attract  night-flying  insects,  is  very  noticeable  in 
our  Lady's  Slippers,  particularly  in  their  roots.  It  is  an  earthy 
scent  that  one  grows  to  like  and  to  associate  with  nature,  as  he 
does  the  smell  of  a  wood  fire.  The  fact  that  plants  of  the 
Orchis  family  rarely  grow  in  abundance,  though  a  single  one 
like  the  English  O.  maciilata  produces  over  186,000  seeds,  and  its 
grandchildren,  at  this  rate  of  increase,  would  nearly  carpet  the 
globe,  has  been  remarked  on  at  length  by  Mr.  Darwin.*  Bur- 
roughs, in  one  of  his  most  successful  descriptions,  accuses  Cypri- 
pedium  of  affecting  privacy,  declaring  that  when  he  comes  across 
it,  he  seems  to  be  intruding  on  some  very  exclusive  company ; 
and  of  our  native  species,  the  Pink  Lady's  Slipper  is  apt,  for 
reasons  before  stated,  to  be  found  in  an  isolated  state,  but  I 
have  counted  fifty  blossoms  in  a  space  less  than  fifty  feet  square, 
have  picked  fifteen  blossoms  of  the  Small  Yellow  Lady's  Slip- 
per from  one  clump,  and  noticing,  one  day,  as  I  sat  down  to 
rest  in  a  cedar  wood,  twenty  young  Ram's-heads  within  reach, 
I  applauded  the  remark  of  a  companion  who  was  loaded  with 
equally  valuable  trophies  :• "  the  only  really  rare  thing  in  this 
region  appears  to  be  grass!"  Even  these  are  instances  of 
scarcity  when  compared  with  the  number  of  spent  seed-vessels 
I  find  each  spring.     How  easily  insects  discover  these  plants  is 

*  Mtlller  says,  his  brother  "  estimated  over  1,750,000  seeds  in  a  single  capsule  of 
a  Maxillaria." 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


39 


proved  by  the  fertilization  last  year  of  some  dwarf  Yellow 
Lady's  Slippers  that  were  brought  the  year  before  from  a 
swamp  fifteen  miles  away.  The  spot  where  they  were  set  out 
in  my  garden  is  not  far  from  the  lake  shore,  to  be  sure,  but 
the  nearest  place  where  any  Lady's  Slippers  grow,  and  that 
high  ground,  is  two  miles  away.  They  were,  therefore,  not  de- 
pendent upon  the  insects  of  any  particular  locality,  and  even 
in  a  very  sheltered,  and  as  it  seemed  unfavorable  position,  were 
quickly  found  out  by  the  proper  bees  or  flies. 

Orchis  spcctabilis  is  called  a  True  Orchis,  because  its  anther- 
cells  are  "  parallel  and  contiguous,"  and  the  glands  of  the  stigma 
(the  viscid  discs)  are  enclosed  in  a  pouch  ;  and  next  to  the  True 
Orchises,  in  botanical  arrangement,  stand  the  Naked-gland 
Orchises,  belonging  to  the  sub-genus  Gymnadenia.  In  these 
the  anther-cells  are  still  parallel,  but  the  viscid  discs,  though 
near  together,  have  no  pouch  to  enclose  them.  We  have  but  one 
representative  species  in  New  England,  H.  tridentata,  to  be 
spoken  of  hereafter,  as  it  blooms  later  than  Orchis  spectabilis, 
although  allied  to  it  in  structure.  After  the  Naked-gland 
Orchises,  in  our  botanies,  come  the  False  Orchises,  belonging 
to  the  sub-genus  Platanthera,  and  these,  says  Gray,  have 
their  anther-cells  "  more  separated  and  divergent,"  so  that  the 
viscid  discs,  also  unenclosed,  "  are  carried,  one  to  each  side  of 
the  broad  stigma."  In  some  species,  in  which  the  discs  do  not 
stand  far  apart,  there  are  curious  contrivances,  such  as  a  chan- 
nelled lip,  lateral  shields,  etc.,  compelling  moths  to  insert  their 
proboscides  directly  in  front.  "  The  sticky  disc,  in  some 
American  species  looking  like  a  little  pearl  button,  stands, 
when  the  flower  bud  opens,  directly  in  the  way  of  the  head  of 
a  moth  or  bee ;  and  here  the  viscidity  of  the  disc  is  beautifully } 
adapted  to  the  state  of  things,  for  although  fully  exposed  to  ' 
the  air,  instead  of  setting  hard  at  once,  as  in  Orchis,  the  disc 
retains  its  viscidity  during  the  whole  period  of  the  expansion 
of  the  flower,  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  insect,  and  quite  sure 


4o 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


to  stick  fast  to  the  side  of  the  face  (the  eye  most  likely,  as 
the  discs,  to  quote  Darwin,  '  cannot  adhere  to  a  scaly  or 
very  hairy  surface,')  of  the  first  one  that  dips  its  proboscis 
into  the  attractive  nectary."  Moreover,  as  the  discs  are  un- 
covered, and  "  the  viscid  matter  serves  to  attach  the  pollen- 
masses  firmly,  without  setting  hard,  there  would  be  no  use  in 
the  insects  being  delayed  by  having  to  bore  holes  at  several 
points  through  the  inner  membrane  of  the  nectaries,"  and, 
therefore,  in  these  open  nectaries  "  we  find  copious  nectar 
ready  stored  for  rapid  suction." 

Gymnadenia  and  Platanthera  are  now  included  in  the  genus 
Habenaria,  and  this  genus,  together  with  Orchis,  forms,  in  this 
country,  the  tribe  Ophrydeae.  If  it  is  a  virtue  to  be  a  True 
Orchis,  the  Habenarias,  or  Rein-Orchises,  are  compensated  in 
proportion  to  their  departure  from  the  standard,  by  acquiring 
more  attractive  features :  gayer  colors,  fringed  or  divided  lips, 
and  generally  speaking,  greater  height.  Gray's  Botany  con- 
tains a  list  of  nineteen,  and  of  this  fair  sisterhood  thirteen  are 
natives  of  New  England. 

The  first  to  offer  itself  for  a  spring  bouquet  is  Habenaria 
Hookcri,  or  the  Smaller  Two-leaved  Orchis,  placed  by  some 
of  my  correspondents  before  C.  parviflorum,  the  difference  in 
dates  of  flowering  being  a  matter  of  but  a  few  days.  Find- 
ing it  in  the  same  localities  with  Orchis  spectabilis,  you  would 
trace  a  family  likeness  at  once,  in  the  bracted,  angled  scape 
and  flat-lying  leaves,  if  going  no  further  into  the  study.  The 
colors  it  wears  are  green  and  yellow,  and  it  cannot  be  styled 
prepossessing,  but,  nevertheless,  it  has  a  decided  dignity  of 
mien.  In  its  structure  it  is  much  like  the  British  H.  cJdor- 
antha,  but  its  anther-cells  "  are  more  widely  divergent,  conse- 
quently a  moth,  unless  of  gigantic  size,  would  be  able  to  suck 
the  copious  nectar  without  touching  either  disc ;  but  this  risk  is 
avoided  in  the  following  manner:  the  central  line  of  the  stigma 
is  prominent,  and  the   lip,  instead  of  hanging  down,  as  in  most 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  41 

of  the  other  species,  is  curved  upwards,  so  that  the  front  of 
the  flower  is  made  somewhat  tubular,  and  is  divided  into 
halves.  Thus  a  moth  is  compelled  to  go  to  the  one  or  other 
side,  and  its  face  will  almost  certainly  be  brought  into  contact 
with  one  of  the  discs.  Professor  Gray  has  seen  a  butterfly 
from  Canada  with  a  pollen-mass  of  this  species  attached  to 
each  eye."  H.  Hookeri  has  the  muskiness  characteristic  of  the 
family  but  no  "strong, 
sweet  odor,"  such  as  is  at- 
tributed to  H.  chlorantJia. 
A  variety,  oblongi folia,  oc- 
curs in  New  York  State, 
differing,  as  the   adjective 

-.  .  ,  .  ,t  Fig.  q.—  Habenaria  chlorantha.  {From  Darwin.) 

implies,     simply     in     the  y  rn  „      .  .. 

"          '                 v  J  A.  Front  view  of  flower.     a,  a,  anther-cells  ;   d,  disc  ; 

shape  of  the   leaves.  «,  nectary;   »',  entrance  to  nectary  ;  /,  labellum  ;  s, 

J  stigma. 

The  first  time  I  analyzed  b.  A  pollinium   (this  has  hardly  a  sufficiently  elon- 

_                        r         t  t        1        »  gated  appearance).     The  drum-like  pedicel  is  hidden 

a      flower     of      Hookers     behind  the  disc. 

Wah^nan'a      T     was      ^tnirk  C-  Diagram  giving  a  section  through  the  viscid  disc, 

hLabenana    1    was    strucK     the  drum^like  pedicel  and  the  attached  end  of  the 

With    the    prominent    beak       caudicle.      The  disc  is  formed  of  an  upper  mem- 

r  brane,  with  a  layer  of  viscid  matter  beneath. 

between    the    bases  Of    the    D.  Side  view  of  flower  of  H.  Hookeri. 

anther-cells.  "  In  both  divisions  of  the  Ophreae,"  Darwin  says, 
"  namely  the  species  having  naked  discs,  and  those  having  discs 
enclosed  in  a  pouch — whenever  the  two  discs  come  into  close 
juxtaposition  a  medial  crest  or  process,  sometimes  called  the 
rostellate  process,  appears.  When  the  two  discs  stand  widely 
apart,  the  summit  of  the  rostellum  between  them  is  smooth,  or 
nearly  smooth."  In  the  illustration  of  0.  mascida,  fig.  4,  B, 
D,  we  see  the  developed  crest ;  in  the  illustration  of  Peri- 
stylus  viridis,  fig.  11,  "  the  first  stage  in  the  formation  of  the 
folded  crest,  the  overarching  summit  bent  like  the  roof  of 
a  house."  It  is  his  belief  that  "  whilst  the  two  discs  were  grad- 
ually brought  together,  during  a  long  series  of  generations,  the 
intermediate  portion  or  summit  of  the  rostellum  became  more 
and  more  arched,  until   a   folded  crest,  and  finally  a  solid  ridge 


42  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

was  formed."  He  mentions,  however,  one  British  species, 
Herminium  monorchis,  "  which  has  two  separate  and  large 
discs,"  and  also  "  a  crest  or  solid  ridge,  more  plainly  developed 
than  might  have  been  expected  ;  "  and  have  we  not  in  our  H. 
Hooker i  a  similar  instance  ? 

" Habenaria  cJilorantha  depends,"  says  Darwin,  "on  the 
larger  nocturnal  Lepidoptera,"  and  he  shows  the  contrivances 
for  securing  fertilization  to  be  even  more  interesting  than  in 
OrcJiis  spectabilis.  "  The  two  anther  cells  are  separated  by  a 
wide  space  of  connective  membrane,  and  the  pollen-masses  are 
enclosed  in  a  backward,  sloping  direction.  The  viscid  discs 
front  each  other  and  stand  in  advance  of  the  stigmatic  surface. 
Each  disc  is  circular,  and  in  the  early  bud  consists  of  a  mass  ol 
cells  of  which  the  exterior  layers  (answering  to  the  pouch  in 
Orchis)  resolve  themselves  into  matter  which  remains  adhesive 
for  at  least  twenty-four  hours  after  the  pollen-mass  has  been 
removed."  The  stalk,  or  caudicle,  of  the  pollen-mass  does  not 
rise  directly  out  of  the  flat  side  of  the  viscid  "  button,"  like  the 
stem  on  a  cherry,  but  is  attached  to  it  by  "  a  short  drum-like 
pedicel  or  continuation  of  the  membranous  portion  of  the  disc  ;  " 
the  shank  of  the  button,  to  carry  out  the  simile.  This  stalk  is 
united  "  in  a  transverse  direction  to  the  embedded  end  of  the 
drum,  and  its  extremity  is  prolonged,  as  a  bent  rudimentary 
tail,  just  beyond  the  drum.  The  stalk  is  thus  united  to  the 
viscid  disc  in  a  plane  at  right  angles.  The  drum-like  pedicel  is 
of  the  highest  importance,  not  only  by  rendering  the  viscid  disc 
more  prominent,  but  on  account  of  its  power  of  contraction. 
The  pollinia  lie  inclined  backward  in  their  cells,  above  and  some 
way  on  each  side  of  the  stigmatic  surface :  if  attached  in  this 
position  to  the  head  of  an  insect,  the  insect  might  visit  any 
number  of  flowers  and  no  pollen  be  left,"  the  pollinia  "  striking 
against  the  anther-cells."  But  in  a  few  seconds  after  the  pol- 
linium  is  removed  "  and  the  inner  end  of  the  drum-like  pedicel 
exposed  to  the  air,  one  side  of  the  drum  contracts  and  draws 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


43 


the  thick  end  of  the  pollinium  inwards  so  that  the  stem  and  the 

viscid  surface  of  the  disc  are  no  longer  parallel  as  they  were  at 

first,  and    as   they  are    represented    in   the 

section,  fig.  9,  C.     At    the    same    time,   the 

drum  rotates  through  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 

circle,  and  this  moves  the  stalk  downward 

like   the   hand   of  a    clock,  depressing   the 

thick   end  of  the  pollinium."     A  disc  once 

affixed  to  the  side  of  an  insect's   face,  by 

the  time  another  flower  on  another  plant  is 

reached,    "  the   pollen-bearing    end    of   the 

pollinium  will   have   moved  downward   and 

inward    and   will    infallibly   strike     . 

the    broad    stigmatic    surface   between   the 

anther-cells.     The    little    rudimentary    tail 

projecting   beyond    the    drum-like    pedicel 

shows    that    the    disc    has   been    carried  a 

little  inward,  and  that  originally  the    two 

discs   stood  even  further  in  advance  of  the 

stigma  than  they  do  at  present." 

Habenaria  viridis,  var.  bract  eat  a,  the 
Bracted  Green  Orchis,  figures  in  old  bot- 
anies as  Platanthera  bracteata.  The  Euro- 
pean species,  H.  viridis,  according  to  Dar-  h.  viridis,  var.  bracteata. 
win,  has  the  viscid  under  side  of  each  disc  "  enclosed  in  a 
small  pouch  ;  "  "this,"  says  Gray,  "  is  not  yet  verified  in  ours." 
Although  it  is  usually  assigned  to  the  following  month,  I  gen- 
erally find  the  Bracted  Green  Habenaria  blooming  with  H. 
Hookeri,  and  therefore  introduce  it  here.  It  has  the  same  green- 
ish-yellow colors,  but  differs  in  several  respects,  such  as  a  leafy 
stem,  bristling  bracts,  smaller  flowers  with  toothed  lip  and  very 
short,  two-lobed,  bag-shaped  nectary  which,  it  would  seem,  almost 
any  insect  could  rifle.  Neither  beautiful  nor  singular,  as  far  as 
outward  appearance   goes,  it  occupies  a  neutral  position,  and 


Fig.  10.— Bracted  Green 
Orchis. 


44  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

is,  on  that  account,  easily  overlooked  in  the  woods,  but  "  it 
serves,"  says  Professor  Gray,  "  almost  completely  to  exemplify 
Mr.  Darwin's  account,  of  the  mechanism  of  Peristylus  viridis." 
The  latter  authority  informs  us  that  the  widely  separated  discs- 
have oval  balls  of  viscid  matter  on  the  under  side,  and  that 
"  the  upper  membrane  to  which  the  stem  of  the  pollinium  is 
attached  is  of  large  size  relatively  to  the  whole  disc,  and  is 
freely  exposed  to  the  air.  Hence  probably  it  is  that  the  pol- 
linia,  when  removed  from  their  cases,  do  not  become  depressed 
until  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  have  elapsed.  Supposing  a  pol- 
linium to  be  attached  to  the  head  of  an  insect  and  to  have 
become  depressed,  it  will  stand  at  the  proper  angle  vertically 
for  striking  the  stigma.  But  from  the  lateral  position  of  the 
anther-cells,  notwithstanding  that  they  converge  a  little  toward 
their  upper  ends,  it  is  difficult  to  see  at  first  how  the  pollinia 
when  removed  are  afterward  placed  on  the  stigma ;  for  this  is 
of  small  size  and  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  flower  be- 
tween the  two  widely  separated  discs." 

He  explains  as  follows:  The  base  of  the 
elongated  lip  forms  a  rather  deep  hollow 
in  front  of  the  stigma,  and  in  this  hollow, 
but  some  way  in  advance  of  the  stigma,  a 
minute  slit-like  orifice  leads  into  the  nec- 
Fig.  n.-A.  peristylus  viki-  tary.  Hence  an  insect  in  order  to  suck  the 
«r^th«^uf«,TnSLce  nectar  would  have  to  bend  down   its  head 

to  nectary  ;  W  «',  nectar  se-    •       f  t      f  the  stigma>       The  lip  has  a  ridge 

creting  spots ;  st,  stigma ;  /,  °  L  ° 

part  of  lip.  down  the  middle,  "which  would  probably 

B.      H.    VIRIDIS,    VAR.      BRAC- 

teata.  induce  an  insect  first  to  alight  on  either 

side ;  but  apparently  to  make  sure  of  this,  besides  the  true 
nectary,  there  are  two  spots  which  secrete  drops  of  nectar  on 
each  side  at  the  base  of  the  lip,  directly  under  the  two  pouches. 
An  insect  alighting  "  on  one  side  of  the  lip  so  as  first  to  lick  up 
the  exposed  drop  of  nectar  there,  from  the  position  of  the 
pouch  exactly  over  the  drop,  would  almost  certainly  "   detach 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  45 

the  pollinium  from  this  side.  "  If  the  insect  then  went  to  the 
mouth  of  the  true  nectary  "  this  pollinium  would  not  have  had 
time  to  be  depressed  and  to  hit  the  stigma,  so  that  there  would 
be  no  self-fertilization.  "  The  insect  would  then  probably  suck 
the  exposed  drop  of  nectar  on  the  other  side  of  the  lip,  and 
perhaps  get  another  pollinium  attached  to  its  head ;  it  would 
thus  be  considerably  delayed  by  having  to  visit  three  nectaries. 
It  would  then  visit  other  flowers  on  the  same  plant  and  after- 
ward flowers  on  a  distinct  plant,  and  by  this  time  the  pollen- 
masses  will  have  undergone  the  movement  of  depression  and 
be  in  a  proper  position  for  effecting  cross-fertilization.  The 
secretion  of  nectar  at  three  separate  points — the  wide  distance 
of  the  two  discs,  and  the  slow  downward  movement  of  the 
stem  are  all  correlated  for  the  same  purpose  of  cross-fertiliza- 
tion." 

In  some  papers  on  The  Colors  of  Flowers  published  in  Nature 
during  July  and  August,  1882,  Mr.  Grant  Allen  endeavors  to 
prove  that  all  flowers  were  originally  yellow,  and  that  highly 
modified  ones,  like  those  of  the  Orchis  family,  changed  this  prim- 
itive color  for  more  decided  tints  to  attract  the  highest  forms 
of  insect  life  ;  and  finding  a  number  of  examples  of  flowers  more 
or  less  green,  such  as  the  European  Habenaria  viridis,  he  infers 
that  they  have  begun  "to  degenerate;"  have  found,  that 
is,  that  the  bright  colors  did  not  serve  them  as  well  as  the 
original  yellow,  and  are  working  back  through  the  intermediate 
green. 

No  one  now  holds  the  opinion  of  some  old  writers  on  Orchids, 
that  flowers  shaped  like  bees,  flies,  etc.,  were  formed  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  attracting  these  insects,  but  that  certain  colors 
are  more  attractive  than  others  is  a  well  settled  point.  Sir  John 
Lubbock  considers  blue  the  most  attractive  ;  Muller  states  that 
in  the  Alps  it  is  yellow  rather  than  white.  An  article  in  Nature 
{  March  22,  1883)  gives  abstracts  from  papers  read  before  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Linnaean  Society,  from  which  I  have  made  the  follow- 


46 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


ing  extracts — it  must  be  noted  that  flowers  in  general  are  re- 
ferred to.  "  A.  W.  Bennett  had  made  a  series  of  observations, 
Among  Lepidoptera  (butterflies,  moths,  etc.),  JO  visits  were  made 
to  red  or  pink  flowers,  5  to  blue,  15  to  yellow,  5  to  white.  Dip- 
tera  (two-winged  insects),  9  to  red  or  pink,  8  to  yellow,  20  to 
white.  Hymenoptera  (bees,  wasps,  etc.),  303  to  red  and  pink,  126 
to  blue,  11  to  yellow,  17  to  white.  Mr.  R.  N.  Christy  records  in 
detail  the  movements  of  76  insects,  chiefly  bees,  and  thinks  bees 
decidedly  confine  their  successive  visits  to  the  same  species. 
Butterflies  generally  wander  aimlessly.  He  thinks  insects  are 
not  guided  by  color  alone,  and  suggests  that  sense  of  smell  may 
be  brought  into  play.  Bees  have  poor  sight  for  long  distances ; 
of  55  bumble-bees  watched,  26  visited  blue  flowers ;  of  these,  12 
were  methodic,  9  irregularly  so,  and  5  not  at  all.  13  visited 
white  flowers  ;  5  were  methodic.  1 1  visited  yellow  flowers  ;  5 
were  methodic.  28  went  to  red  flowers ;  7  methodic,  9  nearly 
so." 

If  we  can  imagine  the  months  as  quarrelling  over  their  floral 
offspring,  we  may  be  sure  that  June  bitterly  disputes  the  claim 
of  May  to  Calypso  borcalis.  This  beautiful  little  inhabitant  of 
cold  bogs  and  cedar  swamps  is  the  only  known  Orchid  that 
reaches  68°  north  latitude,  and  while  very  abundant  in  Oregon 
and  the  North-west,  is  so  rare  in  New  England  that  in  New 
Hampshire,  as  Prof.  Flint  writes  me,  "  one  may  be  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  our  flora  and  yet  never  have  seen  it."  Fortu- 
nately, the  summer  tourist  arrives  in  the  White  Mountains  too 
late  to  find  and  exterminate  the  plant,  and  one  can  hardly 
blame  those  who  do  know  its  stations  for  refusing  to  reveal 
them.  At  Bangor,  Maine,  it  sometimes  blooms  as  early  as  May 
3d,  and  is  always  in  advance  of  the  Showy  Orchis.  At  Middle- 
bury,  its  most  southerly  known  station  in  Vermont,  May  20th  is 
regarded  as  exceptionally  early  ;  and  finding  it  on  the  same  date 
near  Charlotte,  in  the  late  spring  of  1883,  I  attributed  its 
appearance  to  caprice,  as  it  was  several  days  ahead  of  the  apple- 


fec^     *ff! 


IP* 


Fig.  i2.— Calypso  borealis. 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  49 

trees,  with  which  it  usually  blooms  when  it  does  come  early,  and 
quite  had  the  start  of  the  Showy  Orchis.  If  any  one  objects  to 
my  opinion  that  the  first  week  in  June  is  the  average  time  for 
Calypso  in  Vermont,  he  is  at  liberty  to  contradict  it,  but  he 
must  convince  me  that  he  has  gathered  the  flower  more  than 
once. 

In  the  genus  Calypso,  and  this,  our  only  species,  the  sepals  and 
petals  are  tinged  with  pink ;  the  whitish  column  is  "  broadly 
winged  and  petal-like,  bearing  the  lid-like  anther  just  below  the 
apex ;"  the  slipper,  lined  with  delicate  hairs,  is  purple-pink  at 
the  heel,  inside  and  out,  shading  toward  the  curiously  two- 
pointed  toe  into  yellowish  white.  A  tuft  of  bright  yellow  hairs 
and  dots  of  purple  or  pink  adorn  the  instep  It  recalls  the 
Lady's  Slippers  very  strongly,  and  Linnaeus  called  it  Cypripe- 
dium  boreale ;  but  "its  closest  relations  in  this  country,"  says 
Meehan,*  "  are  perhaps  Liparis  and  Microstylis.  Its  real  rela- 
tionship, however,  is  with  Ccelogyne,  a  genus  inhabiting  the 
warmer  parts  of  the  East  Indies,  and  we  see  by  this  compari- 
son how  isolated  Calypso  must  be  when  we  learn  that  instead 
of  a  warm  sub-tropical  climate  in  which  most  of  the  Ccelogyne 
are  found,  this  one  exists  only  in  the  extreme  north  of  our 
country,  and  Lapland  and  Russia."  He  also  quotes,  in  speak- 
ing of  its  habitat,  a  writer  in  the  Gardener  s  Monthly,  who 
found  it  in  Canada,  "  on  a  high  limestone  ridge  .  .  .  sparsely 
covered  with  white  pines,  in  holes  caused  by  tearing  up  of  the 
roots  and  superincumbent  earth  when  forest  trees  are  up- 
rooted by  storms.  The  pine  needles  had  collected  and  decayed 
in  these  holes,  "  forming  a  rich  vegetable  mould  covering  to  a 
depth  of  5  or  6  inches  the  broken  fragments  of  limestone  left 
in  the  hole."  In  Vermont  there  are  extensive  swamps  of 
the  white  cedar,  the  arbor  vitae  of  our  gardens,  a  tree  that 
attains  considerable  size  in  its  native  soil,  and  the  black  earth 

*  Native  Flowers  and  Ferns,  II.  Series. 


50  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

formed  by  the  decaying  leaves  gives  birth  to  this  bright  hued 
Orchid. 

Even  when  her  sanctuary  is  discovered,  Calypso  does  not  al- 
ways reveal  herself.  The  ground  and  the  fallen  tree-trunks  are 
thickly  padded  with  moss  and  embroidered  with  trailing  vines 
of  Snowberry  and  Linnea  ;  Painted  Trilliums  dot  with  their 
white  stars  the  shadows  lying  under  the  tangled,  fragrant 
branches ;  the  silence  of  the  forest,  disturbed  only  by  the  chirr 
of  a  squirrel  or  the  sudden  jubilance  of  the  oven-bird,  envel- 
ops you  and  seems  the  appropriate  accompaniment  of  such  an 
expedition.  You  follow,  perhaps,  a  winding  path  made  by 
the  wild  animals  among  the  underbrush ;  moving  slowly,  or 
you  easily  overlook  the  dainty  blossom,  nestling  in  some  soft, 
damp  nook,  and  poised  lightly  on  its  stem  as  if  ready  to  flut- 
ter away  between  your  covetous  fingers  ;  and  when  in  the 
presence  of  the  goddess  you  are  compelled  to  stoop,  whatever 
title  of  dignity  you  may  wear.  Come  a  week  later,  and  she  has 
vanished :  the  plantain-like  leaf  has  shrivelled  also,  and  it 
will  be  three  months  before  another  arises  to  tell  where  the 
tiny  white  bulb  is  secreted.  Take  up  the  bulb  and  wonder,  as 
I  am  sure  you  will,  how  it  survives  the  frosts  and  snows,  it 
slips  so  readily  out  of  its  loose  bed.  You  will,  doubtless,  feeL 
repaid  for  a  day's  journey  by  the  sight  of  a  single  specimen, 
and  will  not  wonder  that  the  pretty  recluse  has  so  wide  a 
reputation.  The  most  favored  person  I  have  yet  heard  of  is 
Professor  Scribner,  of  Girard  College,  who  informs  me  that  once 
in  Maine,  he  came  on  a  place,  "  not  a  foot  square,  containing 
over  fifty  plants  in  bloom." 

Some  verses  by  Professor  Bailey  of  Providence,  that  have  been 
reprinted  several  times  since  they  first  appeared  in  the  N.  Y. 
Evening  Post,  deserve  quotation  whenever  Calypso  is  mentioned, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  prove  that  a  botanist  may  love 
the  object  of  his  study  for  its  own  own  sake.  Struck  by  their 
out-door  flavor  and  picturesqucness,  I  committed  them  to  mem- 


Fig.  13.— Round-leafed  Orchis.     (Orchis  rotundifolia.) 

Akethusa  bulbosa. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND. 


53 


ory  years  before  I  ever  found  the  plant,  and  hope  that  those 
who  read  them  here  for  the  first  time  will  be  filled  with  a  desire 
to  see  Calypso  for  themselves. 

Calypso,  goddess  of  an  ancient  time 
(I  learn  it  not  from  any  Grecian  rhyme, 
And  yet  the  story  I  can  vouch  is  true), 
Beneath  a  pine  tree  lost  her  dainty  shoe. 

No  workmanship  of  mortal  can  compare 
With  what's  exhibited  in  beauty  there; 
And  looking  at  the  treasure  'neath  the  tree 
The  goddess'  self  I  almost  hope  to  see. 

The  tints  of  purple  and  the  texture  fine, 
The  curves  of  beauty  seen  in  every  line, 
With  fringes  exquisite  of  golden  hue 
Perfect  the  wonders  of  the  fairy  shoe. 

The  goddess  surely  must  have  been  in  haste, 
Like  Daphne,  fleeing  when  Apollo  chased, 
And  leaving  here  a  slipper  by  the  way, 
Intends  to  find  it  on  another  day. 

But  will  she  come  to  seek  it  here  or  no  ? 
The  day  is  lengthening,  but  I  cannot  go 
Until  I  see  her  bring  the  absent  mate 
Of  this  rare  beauty,  though  the  time  is  late. 

I  watch,  but  still  no  classic  form  I  see, 
Naught  but  the  slipper  'neath  the  forest  tree  : 
And  so,  for  fear  of  some  purloining  elf, 
The  precious  relic  I  secure  myself. 

Another  nymph  belonging  to  the  same  tribe,  Arethuseae,  and 
almost  as  charming  as  Calypso,  comes  into  notice,  clad  in  rose- 
purple,  during  the  last  days  of  May  in  Connecticut  and  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  about  the  7th  of  June  in  Central  Vermont  and 


54 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


New  Hampshire.  Arethusa  bnlbosa  chooses  the  open  cran- 
berry swamp  or  the  scanty  shade  of  tamaracks.  Gray  calls  it 
rather  scarce  or  local,  but  as  at  Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  near 
Andover,  Mass.,  where  hundreds  have  been  gathered  at  a  time, 
it  is  wont  to  be  abundant  in  its  pet  localities,  and  one  is  justi- 
fied in  hunting  for  it  anywhere.  Its  range  in  the  Eastern 
United  States  is  from  "  North  Carolina  to  Wisconsin  and  north- 
wards," and  the  unsentimental  Hooker  states  that  the  bulbs, 
with  us,  "  are  used  to  stimulate  indolent  tumors,  and  as  a  cure 

for  toothache." 

The  Arethusa  is  sometimes  very 
fragrant,  as  Chapman,  Goodale,  and 
Burroughs  in  Pepacto7i,  testify,  and  I 
regret  that  it  has  never  been  my  for- 
tune to  find  a  flower  possessing  that 
attraction.  White  varieties  have  been 
reported  from  Plymouth  and  other 
places  in  Massachusetts,  but  such  in- 
stances are  said  to  be  very  rare  in  the 

Fig.  14. 
1.  Side  view  of  column  of  Are-    case  of  this  Orchid, 
thusa.     St,  stigma.  ..  .  .    .        , 

2  and  3.  Front  views  of  anther.       Plymouth   has    also    furnished    two 

(From  Gray's  Botanical  Text  Book.)       -  ,  .  «l.         u  r\«.,,     U„A     -. 

4.  seed-vessel  of  Arethusa.  abnormal    specimens.*         One   had    a 

two-flowered  scape,  the  flowers  complete  and  united  at  the 
base  ;  the  other  had  the  flowers,  which  were  both  incom- 
plete, united  throughout  nearly  the  whole  length."  And  even 
these  are  less  worthy  of  record  than  the  oddity  discovered 
at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  by  Mr.  H.  M.  Denslow,  where  "  two  dis- 
tinct scapes  sprang  from  the  same  bulb ;  one  bearing  the  usual 
single  flower,  the  other,  two."  The  genus  Arethusa  contains 
but  two  other  known  species,  natives  respectively  of  Japan  and 
Guatemala,  and  in  this  genus,  to  quote  Gray,  "  the  lanceolate 
sepals  and  petals,  united  at  the  base,  ascend  and  arch  over  the 


*  See  Bibliography. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


55 


column,  which  is  petal-like,  dilated  at  the  apex,  and  adherent  to 
the  bearded  lip  below.  The  anther  is  lid-like,  terminal,  decidu- 
ous, of  two  approximate  cells,  each  containing  2  powdery -gran- 
ular pollen-masses."  This  lid-like,  deciduous  anther  is,  with 
one  exception,  characteristic  of  all  the  members  of  the  tribe. 
In  A.  bulbosa,  says  Gray,  "  the  4  loose  and  soft  pellets  lie  in  an 
inverted  casque-shaped  case,  hinged  at  the  back,  resting  on  a 
shelf,  the  lower  face  of  which  is  a  glutinous  stigma,  over  the 
front  edge  of  which  the  casque-shaped  anther  slightly  projects." 
At  the  bottom  of  the  cup  formed  by  the  united  sepals  and 
petals  there  is  a  slight  secretion,  and  the  yellow  beard  on  the 
lip  either  acts  as  a  guide  to  this  concealed  nectar,  or  is  an  addi- 
tional attraction.  "  The  an- 
ther is  raised  by  the  head  of 
a  bee  when  creeping  out  of 
the  gorge  of  the  flower.  The 
loose  pellets  are  caught  upon 
the  bee's  head,  to  the  rough 
surface  of  which  they  are 
liable  to  adhere  lightly,  and 
so  to  be  carried  to  the  flower 
of  another  individual,  there 
to  be  left  upon  its  glut- 
inous stigma  by  the  same 
upward  movement  which  im- 
mediately afterward  raises 
the  anther  lid  and  carries 
away  its  pollen  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  a  third  flower,  and 
so  on.  The  scape  rises  from 
a  globular,  solid  bulb,  and 
the  leaf  is  solitary,  linear, 
hidden  in  the  sheaths  of  the  scape,  protruding  from  the  upper- 
most after  flowering." 


Fig.  15.  Whorled  Pogonia. 
P.  verticillata. 


56 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


A  nearly  related  but  rarer  flower,  the  Whorled  Pogonia,  P. 
veriicillata,  springing  from  a  fibrous  root,  comes  with  Arethusa 
or  follows  her  pretty  closely,  and  also  makes  its  home  in  wet 
places.  In  Pogonia,  "  the  only  group  of  which  Darwin  has 
given  no  account,"  for  he  mentions  but  one  species  and  then 
quotes  from  an  American  writer,  the  column  arches  over  the 
lip,  as  in  Arethusa,  but  is  "  free  from  it,  elongated,  club-shaped 
and  wingless."  The  anther  is  also  "  terminal  and  lid-like,"  but 
has  a  stalk,  and  the  powdery-granular  pollen-masses  are  but  2 
in  number,  each  occupying  a  cell.  It  will  be  seen  from  the 
illustration  how  very  long  the  sepals  are  when  compared  with 
the  petals.  My  sketch  was  made  from  a  specimen  not  fully 
blown,  and  the  three  lobes  into  which  the  lip  in  this  species  is 
divided  are  folded  together  too  much.  A  narrow  crest  runs 
down  the  middle  of  the  lip.  Gray  calls  the  flower  "  dusky 
purple,"  but  I  should  prefer,  myself,  to  describe  it  as  brownish- 
purple,  while  yellowish  specimens  have  been  met  with,  and 
Barton's  plate  represents  it  as  yellow,  with  the- sepals  strongly 
tinged  with  brown.  The  whorl  of  leaves  beneath  does  not  add 
much  grace  to  the  flower,  and  if  it  were  not  so  stiff  we  might 
call  it  dishevelled.  The  whole  plant  lacks  the  trimness  and 
poise  of  Arethusa. 

The  occurrence  of  this  Pogonia  in  the  Northern  New  England 
States  is  a  matter  of  doubt,  particularly  in  Maine,  where  the 
"  Portland  Catalogue"  issued  in  1862,  and  the  botanists  of  the 
present  day  are  ranged  on  opposite  sides.  From  the  stations 
sent  me,  I  judge  this  Orchid  to  be  more  common  in  Connecti- 
cut and  Massachusetts  than  is  generally  supposed.  It  is  met 
with  as  far  west  as  Michigan,  and  as  far  south  as  Florida,  while 
a  smaller  species,  P.  affinis,  bearing  greenish-yellow  flowers,  is 
so  dependent  on  a  genial  climate  that  it  has  been  found  but 
once  in  New  England  (at  New  Haven,  Conn.),  and,  ambitious 
as  I  am,  I  admit  that  it  hardly  seems  fair  to  keep  it  on  our 
list. 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  57 

Some  Orchids  belonging  to  the  Arethuseae,  natives  of  Aus- 
tralia and  New  Zealand,  as  described  by  Darwin,  have  such 
sensitive  lips  that  when  touched  they  spring  up,  shutting  the 
insect  within  the  flower  and  either  forcing  it  against  the  pollen- 
masses,  or,  as  in  Cypripedium,  compelling  it  to  carry  off  the 
pollen  as  it  escapes  by  some  narrow  passage.  The  lips  after  a 
time,  varying  in  one  species  "  from  half  an  hour  to  one  hour 
and  a  half,"  re-open  and  are  ready  for  another  visit. 

"  Few  flowers,"  says  a  competent  writer,  "  have  suffered  ruder 
divisions  at  the  hands  of  botanists  than  Orchids."  The  Habe- 
narias  have  been  peculiarly  unfortunate  in  this  respect,  but  a 
change  that  cannot  be  regretted  was  made  in  1877,  when  H. 
rotiindifolia,  the  O.  rotundifolia  of  Pursh,  and  the  P.  rotundifolia 
of  Lindley,  was  reassigned  by  Gray  as  a  True  Orchis  to  its 
proper  place  by  the  side  of  O.  spectabilis,  which  had  been  hav- 
ing a  lonely  tims  as  the  sole  representative  in  this  part  of  the 
world  of  a  prolific  genus.  The  Round-leafed  Orchis  lives 
on  mossy  knolls,  or  tucked  away  under  ferns  in  damp  cedar 
woods,  and  is  a  small  but  exceedingly  pretty  plant.  It  has  but 
one  leaf;  "  its  lateral  sepals  spread  like  those  of  most  European 
species  ;  "  its  waxy  flowers  are  tinged  and  the  lip  is  dotted  with 
purple.  Hooker's  description,  "  pale,  dirty  white,"  simply  ma- 
ligns them.  If  far  enough  north,  for  like  Calypso  this  dainty 
Orchis  requires  cold,  you  will  probably  gather  it  before  the 
Arethusas  fade,  and  in  their  vicinity. 

Any  swamp  is  a  treasure-house  at  this  time  of  year  to  one 
who  wades  recklessly  into  it.  The  treacherous  sphagnum, 
shading  through  all  the  tints  of  green  into  rich  reds  and 
umbers,  lures  you  on  by  offering  a  bird's  nest  here  and  a  bizarre 
mushroom  there,  till  wet  feet  seem  a  very  small  price  to  pay 
for  so  great  an  amount  of  pleasure.  The  Linnea  swings  her 
fragrant  bells;  the  Bunch-berry  masses  her  involucres  into 
a  semblance  of  the  snow-drifts  that  lay  there  not  so  very  long 
ago;    the  Pitcher-plant   offers  her  brimming  beakers;    slender 


58 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


ferns  and  plumed  sedges  sway  in  the  wind.  With  so  much 
that  is  immediately  presented  to  the  eye,  how  can  the  Tway- 
blade,  Listera  cordata,  tiniest  of  our  Orchids,  hope  to  turn  your 
steps  toward  her  bower?  True,  you  may  not  appreciate  her 
after  you  have  brushed  away  the  branches  of  Kalmia  and  Lab- 
rador Tea,  and  found  her  to  be  a  plainly  dressed  little  thing, 
perhaps  six  inches  high,  but  she  is  entitled  to  as  much  respect  as 
any  of  her  race.  L.  cordata,  the  Long-lipped  or  Heart-leaved 
Listera,  as  Barton  calls  it,  came,  in  1883,  with  Calypso,  but  in 
our  Vermont  lowlands  generally  accompanies  C.  arictinitm.  It 
is  common  all  through  the  Green  Mountains  during  July,  par- 
ticularly under  the  low  spruces  on  the  top  of  Mansfield  and 
Camel's  Hump,  and,  through  July  and  August,  may  be  looked 
for  in  the  White  Mountains,  where  it  reaches  an  elevation  of 
3,000  feet  to  my  knowledge,  and  probably  climbs  still  higher,  as 
it  requires  little  sustenance  except  moisture.  Beyond  New 
England  it  extends  as  far  north  as  Alaska. 

The  genus  Listera  brings  to  our  notice  another  tribe,  that  of 
the  Neottieae,  containing,  in  this  country,  Goodyera,  Spiranthes 
and  Listera,  and  standing  according  to  structure  between  the 
Ophrydeae  and  Arethuseae.  The  Neottieae  have  "  the  anther 
attached  to  the  back  of  the  column,  erect  and  parallel  with 
the  stigma ;  the  2  cells  approximate,  the  pollen  rather  loose 
or  powdery,  or  elastically  cohering."  The  genus  Listera 
has  among  other  characteristics,  the  "  lip  mostly  drooping, 
2-lobed  or  2-cleft ;  the  column  wingless;  the  stigma  with  a 
rounded  beak  ;  the  pollen-masses  joined  to  a  minute  gland,  and 
the  roots  fibrous."  Of  the  three  species  mentioned  in  Gray,  we 
have  two  in  New  England,  and  Listera  cordata  has  the  same 
elaborate  mechanism  as  the  British  Listera  ovata. 

"  The  rostellum  is  of  large  size,  convex  in  front  and  concave 
behind,  with  its  sharp  summit  slightly  hollowed  out  on' each 
side  ;  it  arches  over  the  stigmatic  surface.  The  anther,  situated 
behind  the  rostellum   and  protected  by  a  broad  expansion  of 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


59 


the  top  of  the  short  column,  opens  in  the  bud.  When  the 
flower  is  fully  expanded,  the  pollen-masses  are  left  quite  free, 
supported  behind  by  the  anther  cells,  and  lying  in  front  against 
the  concave  back  of  the  rostellum,  with  their  upper  pointed 
ends  resting  on  its  crest.  Each  pollen-mass  is  almost  divided 
into  two.  The  few  elastic  threads  of  the  grains  are  weak,  and 
large  masses  of  pollen  can  be  broken  off  easily.  The  lip  has  two 
basal  lobes  which  curve  up  on  each  side,  and  these  would  com- 
pel an  insect  to  approach  the  rostellum  straight  in  front.     As 


Fig.  16. — Listera  ovata.     {From  Muller.) 
i.  Side  view  of  unfertilized  flower :  ov,  ovary. 

2.  Front  view,  after  the  pollen-masses,  /<?,  have  been  removed  from  the  anther.  The  flat 
rostellum  (r)  is  bent  forward  and  partly  conceals  the  stigma  (st).  (Magnified  one-half  as  much 
as  i.)    «,  nectary. 

3.  Pollen-masses  adhering  to  a  needle  (greatly  enlarged),     c,  cement. 

4.  Grammoptera  Icevis,  with  a  number  of  pollen-masses  on  its  head. 

soon  as  the  flower  opens,  if  the  exquisitely  sensitive  rostellum 
be  touched  ever  so  lightly,  a  large  drop  of  viscid  fluid  is  instan- 
taneously expelled,  and,  on  exposure  to  the  air,  in  two  or  three 
seconds  the  drop  sets  hard,  soon  assuming  a  purplish  brownish 
tint.  As  the  pointed  tips  of  the  pollen-masses  lie  on  the  crest 
of  the  rostellum,  they  are  always  caught  by  the  exploded  drop." 
This  drop,  then,  does  the  work  of  a  viscid  disc  for  the  pollen- 
masses. 

"When  the  anther-cells  open,  the  rostellum  slowly  curves 
over  the  stigmatic  surface,  so  that  its  explosive  crest  stands  at 
a  little  distance  from  the  summit  of  the  anther;  and  this  is  very 
necessary,  otherwise  the  summit  would  be  caught  by  the  viscid 


50  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND. 

matter  (which  expels  the  drop)  and  the  pollen  forever  locked 
up.  Small  insects  alight  on  the  lip  for  the  sake  of  the  nectar 
copiously  secreted  (by  the  furrow  on  it) ;.  as  they  lick  this,  they 
slowly  crawl  up  its  narrowed  surface  until  their  heads  stand 
directly  beneath  the  overarching  crest  of  the  rostellum ;  when 
they  raise  their  heads  they  touch  the  crest ;  this  then  explodes 
(expelling  the  viscid  drop),  and  the  pollen-masses  are  instantly 
and  firmly  cemented  to  their  heads. 

"  The  rostellum,  which  is  naturally  somewhat  arched  over  the 
stigma,  quickly  bends  forward  and  downward  at  the  moment  of 
the  explosion  so  as  then  to  stand  at  right  angles  to  the  surface 
of  the  stigma.     When  the  rostellum  is  touched  so  quickly  that 
the  pollen-masses   are  not  removed,  they  become  fixed  to  the 
rostellum  and  by  its  movement  are  likewise  drawn  a  little  for- 
ward.    In  the  course  of  some  hours,  or  of  a  day,  the  rostellum 
not  only  slowly  recovers  its  original  position  (pushing  back  the 
pollen-masses,  and  while   this  is  going  on,   Muller  adds  in  his 
account,  the  groove   of  the  lip   is  secreting  fresh  honey),  but 
becomes  quite   straight   and  parallel  to  the  stigmatic  surface. 
The  downward  movement  of  the  rostellum  protects  the  stigmas 
of  the  young  flowers  of  a  plant   from   impregnation,  and  the 
upward  movement  leaves  the  stigmatic  surface  of  older  flowers, 
now  rendered  more  adhesive,  perfectly  free  for  pollen  to  be  left  on 
it.   The  pollen-masses,  once  cemented  to  an  insect's  forehead,  will 
remain  attached  until  brought  into  contact  with  the  stigma  of 
a  mature  flower;  then  the  weak,  elastic  threads  which  tie  the 
grains  together "   are  ruptured.     Sometimes   an   insect   is  too 
feeble  to  remove  the  pollen-masses,  and  one  was  found  by  Dar- 
win "  vainly  struggling  to   escape,  with   its  head   cemented  by 
the  hardened  viscid  matter  to  the   crest  of  the  rostellum  and  to 
the  tips  of  the  pollen-masses,  where  it  miserably  perished."     He 
also    speaks    of    the    number    of    spider-webs    spread    over  the 
plants   of  Listcra  ovata,   "as   if   the   spiders  were   aware   how 
attractive  the  Listera  is  to  insects." 


Fig.  17.— Twayblade.      (Listera  cordata.) 

LlSTERA  CONVALLARIOIDES- 
LlPARIS  LCESELII. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  63 

"All  dull  yellow  (dirty-yellow,  brownish-yellow,  yellowish- 
white)  flowers,"  says  Muller  *  giving  a  long  list  of  genera  which 
includes  Neottia,  "are  entirely  or  almost  entirely  avoided  by 
beetles ;  closely  allied  white  flowers  are  visited  by  beetles,  more 
or  less  to  their  injury  ;  and  brightly  colored  flowers,  even  though 
they  are  scentless  and  offer  no  honey,  or  none  that  is  accessible, 
attract  beetles  in  numbers.  If  (as  he  supposes)  beetles  are  only 
or  mainly  attracted  to  flowers  by  bright  colors,  dull  yellow  must 
be  an  advantageous  color  for  plants  with  freely  exposed  honey, 
protecting  them  from  these  injurious  guests.  And  the  fact  that 
dull  yellow  colors  only  occur  in  flowers  with  exposed  honey 
lends  support  to  this  view."  Speaking  in  another  place  \  of 
the  effect  of  conspicuousness  in  inducing  insects'  visits, he  says: 
"  .  .  .  those  insects  whose  bodily  organization  is  least 
adapted  for  a  floral  diet  are  also  least  ingenious  and  skilful 
in  seeking  and  obtaining  their  food,  so  that  with  anthophilous 
insects  intelligence  seems  to  advance  pari  passu  with  structural 
adaptation,"  hence,  "  short-lipped  insects,  little  or  not  at  all 
specialized  for  a  floral  diet,  can  usually  only  find  fully  exposed 
honey,  such  as  Listera  (and  others)  afford ;  honey  still  easily 
accessible  but  not  directly  visible  to  them  is  passed  by." 

He  says  again:  "Insects  in  cross-fertilizing  flowers  endow 
them  with  offspring  which,  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  van- 
quish those  individuals  of  the  same  species  which  are  the  off- 
spring of  self-fertilization.  The  insects  must,  therefore,  operate 
by  selection  in  the  same  way  as  do  unscientific  cultivators 
among  men  who  preserve  the  most  pleasing  or  most  useful 
specimens,  and  reject  or  neglect  others.  In  both  cases,  selec- 
tion in  course  of  time  brings  those  variations  to  perfection 
which  correspond  to  the  taste  or  needs  of  the  selective  agent." 
As  insects  became  more  skilful  and  intelligent,  flowers  became 
more  varied  in  color,  more  complicated  in  structure,  etc.    "The 

*  Fertilization  of  Flozuers,  p.  574.  f  Page  571. 


64 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


Ichneiimonidce  at  first  surpassed  all  other  visitors  in  observation 
and  discernment,  and  were  thus  able  to  produce  inconspicuous 
flowers  which  escaped  the  notice  of  other  visitors.  On  the 
appearance  of  sand-wasps  and  bees  these  inconspicuous  flowers 
were  banished  by  competition  to  the  less  frequented  localities 
(c.  g,  Listera  to  shady  woods)." 

Our  larger  species,  Listera  convallarioidcs,  due  ten  days  or  so 
later  in  damp  places  along  brooks,  has 
a  longer  column  than  L.  cordata,  and 
the  flowers  are  somewhat  pubescent  or 
downy.  L.  convallarioidcs,  as  I  learn 
partly  from  the  Report  of  the  Geological 
^§jh    x  Exploration    of    the    40th   Parallel,   has 

^^4Yr^  the    following   extended    range:    "Can- 

ada to  North  Carolina  (rare  in  lower 
New  England  for  some  mysterious  rea- 
son), westward  to  Rocky  Mountains  and 
Unalaska.  Found  in  the  East  Hum- 
boldt Mountains  at  an  elevation  of  7,000 
feet."  Both  our  species  are  so  faintly 
colored  that  it  is  almost  absurd  to  speak 
of  them  as  having  color  at  all,  and  they 
are  so  fragile,  watery  and  translucent  in  substance  that  it  is 
impossible  to  represent  them  in  a  sketch  without  exaggerating 
their  size.  I  have  grouped  them  with  a  species  of  Liparis,  or 
Twayblade,  L.  Lceselii,  a  small,  coarse  herb  with  the  greenish- 
yellow  colors  of  the  Listeras,  and  like  them  a  dweller  in  wet 
places. 

In  Liparis,  which  is  a  genus  of  the  tribe  Malaxideae,  "  the 
anther  is  attached  to  the  apex  of  the  elongated,  incurved  col- 
umn ;  the  4  pollen-masses  arranged  in  one  row  (2  to  each  cell) 
have  no  stalks,  connecting  tissues  or  gland."  These  herbs  have 
"  solid  bulbs."  The  lip  is  spurless  as  in  Listera  ;  and  in  L.  Loss- 
elii,  whose  flowers  have  a  combative  air  like  so  many  little  drag- 


Fig.  18. 

1,  2.  Flower  of  Liparis  Lee 
selii. 

3    Seed-vessels  of  same. 

4.  Flower  of  Listera  conval- 
larioides.     (Anther  removed.) 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


65 


ons,  there  is  a  furrow  or  median  line  on  the  lip,  corresponding 
probably  to  the  nectar-secreting  groove  in  Listera,  and  as  the 
edges  of  the  lip  curve  up  at  the  sides,  an  insect  would  have  but 
one  easy  mode  of  entrance  offered,  and  in  crawling  up  this  pas- 
sage-way would  be  led  directly  under  the  anther.  Barton  gives 
a  fairly  good  plate  of  this  Liparis,  calling  it  Malaxis  longifolia, 
the  Long-leaved  Malaxis,  and  describes  the  root  as  "  a  roundish 
bulb,  sending  off  a  few  radicles  and  a  large  offset,  the  germ  of 
a  new  plant."  England  produces  a  smaller  species,  and  this, 
together  with  Listera  ovata,  is  considered  by  Grant  Allen  to 
be  degenerating  like  H.  viridis. 

Our  more  common  species,  L.  lilii- 
folia,  Barton's  Lily-leaved  Malaxis,  with 
brownish-purple,  larger-lipped  flowers, 
follows  L.  Lceselii  in  the  course  of  a 
week  or  so.  This  species  grows  as  far 
south  as  Georgia ;  L.  Lceselii  ranges 
from  New  England  and  the  Middle 
States  to  Wisconsin  and  above  the 
50th  parallel.  I  was  quite  impressed  by 
the  diminutive  size  of  Listera  cordata 
until  I  opened  an  herbarium  containing 
among  its  Orchids  a  row  of  fully  devel- 
oped plants  related  to  Liparis  {Malaxis 
palndosa  from  Scotland),  few  of  them 
over  an  inch  high. 

Some  pasture,  threaded  by  sluggish 
streams,  or  some  wet  road-side,  will, 
about  the  middle  of  June,  afford  the 
next  Orchid  and  the  first  of  the  genus 
Spiranthes  or  Ladies'  Tresses;  5.  latifolia,  the  Broad-leaved 
Spiranthes.  The  small,  white  blossoms,  climbing  spirally  up 
their  spike,  and  suggesting  to  a  highly  imaginative  person  a 
lock  of  hair,  would  seem  to  have  originated  the  popular  name ; 


-^%^J 


Fig.  19. — Lily-leaved  Liparis. 
L.  liliifolia. 


66  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

but  this  is  evidently  only  a  natural  corruption  of  the  name 
given  in  the  old  botanies,  Ladies'  Traces,  which  likened  the 
arrangement  of  the  flowers  to  the  traces  or  strings  of  a 
bodice. 

Spiranthes  is  intermediate  between  Goodyera  and  Listera. 
"  In  Spiranthes,"  says  Meehan,  "  there  are  callous  protuber- 
ances at  the  base  of  the  lip ;  the  other  genera  have  none. 
Listera  has  sepals  and  petals  spreading,  the  petals  of  the  others 
are  ringent  (or  gaping)  at  the  base.  In  some  cases  of  Spi- 
ranthes, the  rachis,  or  that  part  of  the  stem  to  which  the  flowers 
are  attached,  is  perfectly  straight  and  only  the  flowers  seemed 
coiled  around  it,  while  in  other  species  it  is  screw-like  and  seems 
to  carry  the  flowers  with  it  as  it  coils."  "  Gaping  "  describes 
most  admirably  the  appearance  of  the  tubular  blossoms.  The 
stem  of  5.  latifolia  is  "  naked  or  leafy  below ;  the  roots  clus- 
tered-tuberous,"  to  quote  superficially  from  Gray.  The  arrange- 
ments for  fertilization  are  probably  similar  to  those  of  5.  gracilis 
and  S.  cemua,  and  I  reserve  a  description  of  the  process  until 
I  come  to  those  later  species.  Meehan  states  that  these 
Orchids  are  seldom,  if  ever,  obtained  beyond  the  Mississippi. 

I  have  found  Spiranthes  latifolia  quite  high  up  on  mountain 
roads  when  hunting  for  another  Orchid  that  requires  cold  and 
dampness,  Habenaria  dilatata.  The  latter,  it  is  safe  to  assume, 
is  associated  in  many  a  mind  with  a  Maine  carry,  a  White 
Mountain  flume,  or  a  Green  Mountain  notch.  Perhaps  you 
recall  the  very  spot,  a  green  nook  near  the  limpid  pool  in 
which  you  dipped  your  hands;  or  it  may  have  been  higher  up 
where  white-throated  sparrows  were  whistling  through  the  mist, 
and  icy  springs  came  trickling  through  beds  of  moss  and  snow- 
berry,  and  the  bleak  summit  was  almost  gained. 

H.  dilatata,  the  Northern  White  Orchis,  has  been  often  con- 
founded with  H.  Jiyperborea,  the  Northern  Green  Orchis,  as  by 
Sir  William  Hooker,  who  feared  it  was  only  a  luxuriant  form 
of    the    latter,  and  by  Dewey,  who,  in   his  Herbaceous  Plants 


i 


ffW. 


r 


M/\ 


Fig.  20.— Northern-  White  Orchis.     (Habenaria  dilatata.) 
Three-toothed  Orchis.     (Habenaria  tridentata.) 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  69 

of  Massachusetts,  called  it  "unattractive,"  while  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
whose  Lectures  on  Botany  were  published  at  Hartford  in 
1835,  thought  the  difficulty  bridged  by  her  statement :  "  in  the 
woods  the  flowers  are  green."  H.  dilatata  is  one  of  the  most 
stately  children  of  the  forest,  and  her  velvety  spike,  springing 
out  of  rank  sedges  and  ferns,  catches  the  eye  at  once,  or  where 
the  plant  grows  profusely,  so  perfumes  the  air  as  to  need  no 
other  sign  of  its  presence.  Its  color  is  usually  pure  white,  but 
Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Purington,  of  Auburn,  Maine,  writes  me  that  she 
once  found  this  species  deeply  tinged  with  pink-purple.  As 
Gray  well  says  :  "  the  spike  is  wand-like  ;  "  both  bracts  and  spurs 
are  short ;  and  there  is  "  a  trowel-shaped  conspicuous  beak  (ros- 
tellum)  between  the  bases  of  the  anther-cells."  H.  hyperborea, 
which,  as  has  been  intimated,  comes  at  the  same  time  and  gen- 
erally in  the  same  places,  is  more  numerously  flowered  ;  the  lip 
is  tapering  instead  of  "  dilated ;"  and  the  stem  is  sheathed  with 
broader  leaves.  The  Report  of  the  Geological  Exploration  of  the 
40th  Parallel  gives  the  range  of  these  two  Habenarias  as  fol- 
lows:  "  H.  hyperborea  ;  Border  States  and  Canada  to  Greenland 
and  the  Arctic  Circle  (Iceland  also  has  its  H.  hyperborea)  and 
Unalaska.  The  Saskatchawan  region  and  Washington  Territory 
and  southward  on  the  mountains  to  California  (?)  and  Nevada. 
In  Nevada  found  at  an  elevation  of  8,000  feet,  as  July-Aug.  H. 
dilatata;  Nevada,  6,000  to  9,000  feet,  July-Sept.  Posterior 
sepal  not  hooded."  The  chief  difference  between  the  species, 
however,  is  that  H.  dilatata  cannot  fertilize  itself,  while  H. 
hyperborea  "  habitually  "  does. 

"  H.  dilatata  has,"  says  Gray,  "  its  anther-cells  near  together 
and  almost  parallel,  and  the  very  large  strap-shaped  discs  are 
parallel,  vertical  and  near  together,  and  placed  just  over  the 
back  side  of  the  narrow  orifice  of  the  spur,  looking  forward  ; 
they  are  nearly  as  long  as  the  pollen-mass  and  its  stalk  together ; 
the  latter  is  short  and  flat  and  attached  to  its  disc  just  below 
the  summit  of  the  latter.     No  movement  of  depression  or  of 


;o 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


rotation  was  detected.  The  throat  of  the  flower  is  a  narrow 
chamber  ;  and  the  narrow  stigma  and  the  discs  lie  so  low  in  it 
that  fertilization  cannot  be  effected  without  insect  aid,  and  this 
can  be  given  only  by  means  of  a  proboscis.  We  find  accord- 
ingly, that  a  pig's  bristle  cannot  be  thrust  down  to  the  bottom 
of  the  spur  and  withdrawn  without  bringing  away  one  of  the 
pollen-masses.  But  the  anther-cells  open  early  and  the  pollen- 
masses  are  often  dislodged  as  soon  as  the  flower  opens.  Yet 
from  the  arrangement  of  the  parts,  we  think  that  they  can 
never  fall  over  upon  their  own  stigma  as  they  do  in  the 
allied 

"  Plat  ant  her  a  (Nabenaria)  hyperborca.  Here  the  lip,  spreading 
from  the  base,  leaves  a  more  open  throat,  the  more  exposed 
stigma  is  broad  and  transverse,  the  anther-cells  are  more  diver- 
gent, and  from1  the  curvature  of  the  flower,  more  overhanging, 
and  the  stalks  of  the  pollen-masses  very  slender  and  weak. 
Thus  disposed,  the  pollen-masses  very  commonly  fall  out  of  the 
anther-cells  while  the  tip  of  the  lip  is  still  held  under  the  point 
of  the  upper  sepals  and  petals,  or  even  in  the  closed  buds,  and 
when  the  lip  is  disengaged  and  becomes  recurved,  or  even  be- 
fore, the  pollen-masses  are  apt  to  topple  over  and  fall  upon  the 
broad  stigma  beneath."  In  this  respect  the  plant  is  much  like 
Ophrys  opifcra  in  Darwin's  treatise,  but  H.  hyper borea  is  also 
fertilized  by  outside  aid.  "  The  packets  of  pollen  are  looser 
and  the  threads  that  attach  them  to  the  stalk  weaker  than 
usual ;  while  the  discs  (which  are  oval  and  rather  small)  retain 
for  a  good  while  their  viscidity,  so  that  a  fitting  insect  on  visit- 
ing the  open  flowers,  in  which  the  pollen-masses  have  already 
fallen  over  on  to  the  broad  stigma  underneath,  will  yet  catch 
one  or  both  of  the  discs  upon  his  proboscis,  carry  off  the  pol- 
len-masses (which  may  be  readily  detached  from  the  stigma, 
leaving  some  pollen  behind)  and  apply  them  in  succession  to 
the  stigmas  of  other  flowers  of  other  individuals,  and  thus 
effect  occasionally  the  crossing  so  uniformly  effected  in   most 


Fig.  2i.— Putty-root.    (Aplectrum  hyemale.) 
Leaf,  Flowers  and  Seed-vessels. 
Large  Coral-root.    (C.  multiflora) 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  73 

species  of  the  tribe.     We   have   observed  that   this   species  is 
very  fertile,  usually  maturing  all  its  ovaries." 

The  genus  Corallorhiza  (Coral-root),  northern  or  extra-tropi- 
cal in  range  and  containing  about  ten  species,  has  four  repre- 
sentatives in  the  North-eastern  United  States,  three  of  them  oc- 
curring in  New  England.  This  genus  follows  Liparis  in  Gray's 
Botany;  the  plants  are  supposed  to  be  root-parasitical,*  and 
send  up  "  a  simple  scape,  furnished  with 
sheaths  instead  of  leaves,  from  a  much 
branched  and  toothed  coral-like  root-stock." 
The  lip,  "  slightly  adherent  to  the  base  of  the 
2-edged  straightish  column,"  "is  often  more 
or  less  extended  into  a  protuberance  or 
"  short  spur  coalescent  with  the  ovary."  The 
anther  is  "  terminal,  lid-like."  The  4  pollen- 
masses  are  "  soft-waxy  or  powdery,  and  have  FlG.  22._RooT  OF 
no  stalks  or  connecting  tissue."  C.  innata  Corallorhiza. 
(Early  Coral-root),  and  C.  odontorhiza  (Dragon-claw,  Coral-tooth, 
Small  Late  Coral-root)  are  mentioned  together  here,  although 
the  latter  belongs  rather  to  July,  in  Vermont,  because  the  next 
Orchid  mentioned  is  a  near  relative  and  might  be  mistaken  for 
them.  C.  innata,  which  Hooker  says  closely  accords  with  the 
European  species,  is  a  low  dingy-green  herb  bearing  a  few  spur- 
less  flowers,  and  found  in  swampy  or  wet  shaded  places.  Grow- 
ing as  far  south  as  Georgia,  it  yet  follows  Calypso  across  the 
60th  parallel,  but  notwithstanding  this  extensive  range,  it  is 
rare.  C.  odontorhiza  is  found  in  Florida,  and  Chapman  makes 
the  singular  statement  that  although  vernal  in  the  North  it  does 
not  bloom  till  September  and  October  in  the  South.  This 
Coral-root  has  a  depression  where  its  flower-spur  should  be. 
From  its  greater  height,  which  may  be   sixteen   inches,  and  its 


*  Sachs  {Botanical  Text  Book)  calls  the  Coral-roots,  particularly  C.  innata, 
"  saprophytes,"  because  they  "  make  use  .  .  .of  the  material  of  other  plants 
which  are  already  in  a  state  of  decomposition." 


j a  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

more  numerous  and  purplish  blossoms,  it  has  a  better  claim  to 
attention,  but  I  fear  that  neither  species  will  ever  have  its 
praises  celebrated  in  any  but  the  heaviest  prose. 

Aplcctrum  hycmale,  the  Winter  Aplectrum,  has  a  bulb  like  a 
crocus,  and  on  digging  this  up,  two  or  more  are  found  con- 
nected with  it,  as  offsets,  generally  in  a  horizontal  line  like 
beads  on  a  string.  (See  root  of  Tipularia,  fig.  27.)  Each 
"  requires  two  years  for  its  perfect  development,  and  dies  at 
the  end  of  the  third,"  after  producing  a  scape  of  flowers;  and 
as  each  year  one  bulb  shrivels  and  another  is  added,  the  scape 
may  almost  be  said  to  keep  in  motion.  The  character  of  the 
root  has  given  the  popular  name  of  "  Adam  and  Eve  "  to  this 
Orchid,  and  the  bulbs  are  worn  as  amulets  by  the  southern 
negroes  and  poor  whites,  who  also  place  the  (separated)  bulbs 
in  water  and  according  as  Adam  or  Eve  "  pops  up,"  calculate 
the  chances  of  retaining  a  friend's  affection,  of  "  getting  work, 
or  of  living  in  peace  with  neighbors  ;  "  while  Pursh  tells  us  that 
the  sticky  matter  of  which  they  are  composed  is  mixed  with 
water  and  used  by  thrifty  housewives  to  mend  their  crockery, 
and  Putty-root  is  the  more  widely  known  name  at  the  North. 
Like  Calypso  borealis,  it  sends  up  its  single  distinct  leaf  at  the 
end  of  summer  or  early  in  September,  in  rich  dry  woods.  A 
stiff,  dark  purple  horn  first  pricks  the  ground,  rises  slowly,  for 
it  has  a  long  and  severe  life  before  it,  and  when  it  grudgingly 
uncurls,  shows  a  coarse  leaf,  greenish  on  the  upper  side  and 
threaded  with  numerous  white  veins.  Crushed  down  and 
bleached  by  the  snows,  it  presents  itself  in  the  spring  in  a 
very  wrinkled  condition,  holding  on  bravely  till  the  plant 
flowers,  when  it  withers  away.  Barton  styles  it  the  "  Double- 
bulbed  Corallorhiza,"  and  criticises  Pursh  and  Willdenow  for 
endowing  it  with  two  leaves.  The  flowers  resemble  in  shape 
those  of  C.  odontorhiza,  and,  as  the  Greek  substantive  signifies, 
are  spurless.  The  sepals  and  petals  are  dull  yellow  tipped 
with  brown  ;  the   lip  white,  flecked  with  purple,  and  the   per- 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


75 


fume  delightful.  The  lip  is  free  from  the  column,  but  the 
flowers  and  scape  have  the  general  structure  of  those  of  the 
Coral-roots. 

While  the  Aplectrum  grows  as  far  north  in  America  as  the 
Saskatchewan  Valley,  it  is  rare  in  New  England.  The  earliest 
date  obtained  from  Connecticut  is  June  6th,  and  in  Central 
Vermont  and  Western  New  Hampshire  its  mean  time  of  bloom- 
ing would  appear  to  be  June  20th,  though  once  in  a  while  it 
ignores  set  times  and  celebrates  its  birthday  in  May.  A  Michi- 
gan botanist  writing  to  the  American  Naturalist  some  years  ago, 
called  it  "  a  shy  bloomer."  It  is  very  abundant  near  Detroit, 
but  he  had  watched  for  years  without  seeing  any  flowers,  and 
although  buds  formed  on  transplanted  specimens  they  never 
matured.  I  have  been  more  fortunate  myself,  both  in  finding 
flowers  from  year  to  year  and  in  transplanting,  but  have  always 
been  struck  with  the  disproportion  between  the  number  of 
flower  stalks  and  the  number  of  leaves.  The  bulbs  have  a  rank 
smell,  and  to  my  thinking  are  fully  as  disagreeable  to  the  taste, 
but  I  know  persons  who  profess  to  be  fond  of  them. 

The  silent  procession  seems  to  be  dwindling  down  and  be- 
coming sad-colored,  but  it  is  time  to  expect  the  most  regal  of 
our  Orchids,  the  Showy  Lady's  Slipper,  C.  spectabile,  whose 
tropical  lustiness  of  growth  one  can  hardly  attribute  to  our 
climate.  The  first  time  I  found  the  plant,  I  was  working  my 
way  out  of  a  low,  wet  wood,  where  the  osmundas  grew  tall  and 
palm-like,  and  coming  suddenly  upon  a  group  of  what  were 
unmistakably  Lady's  Slippers,  I  was  as  startled  as  though  a 
gaudy  cockatoo  had  fluttered  by.  Already,  it  was  the  last  of 
May,  the  broad  plaited  leaves  reached,  on  their  stalwart  stems, 
above  my  knees.  Could  this  be  their  natural  home,  and  if  so, 
must  they  not  have  made  a  compact  with  August  and  be  wait- 
ing for  an  intense  heat  to  call  out  their  great  flowers  ? 

This  species  displays  a  crimped,  shell-shaped  lip  that  varies 
from  a  rich   pink-purple   blotched  with  white  to  pure  white  ; 


75  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

indeed,  as  C.  album,  it  was  known  in  England  before  1770, 
Two  blossoms  often,  sometimes  three  or  four,  are  found  on 
the  same  plant,  and  I  have  been  interested  to  learn  from  a 
friend  that  he  broke  off  a  bud  from  a  root  he  was  transplanting 
one  fall  and  found  on  cutting  it  open,  two  embryo  flowers 
packed  away  there,  and  even  saw  their  pollen-masses  without 
the  aid  of  a  glass. 

C.  spectabile  comes  as  early  as  the  20th  of  June  in  southern 
Connecticut,  and,  in  early  seasons,  has  been  gathered  on  the 
same  date  in  Penobscot  Co.,  Maine,  where,  says  Miss  Furbish, 
"  whole  swamps  appear  to  be  devoted  to  it,  and  it  really  impedes 
progress  by  its  height  and  abundance."  The  28th  will  answer 
for  Central  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  but  the  White 
Mountains,  I  think,  rarely  afford  it  before  July.  Its  range, 
elsewhere,  is  Wisconsin,  Illinois  and  "  southward  along  the  Alle- 
ghanies."  I  have  read  of  a  supposed  case  of  poisoning  by  C. 
spectabile  and  C.  pubescens,  and  am  eager  in  their  behalf  to  shift 
the  blame  upon  the  Poison  Ivy  and  Poison  Sumach,  old  offend- 
ers, generally  found  skulking  in  the  same  localities.  The  False 
Hellebore,  a  stout,  coarse  perennial,  very  abundant  in  low 
ground,  bears  when  young  and  before  its  racemes  appear,  a  su- 
perficial likeness  to  the  Lady's  Slippers,  and  I  do  not  wonder 
that  it  is  considered  a  prize  by  the  inexperienced  who  are 
searching  for  C.  spectabile. 

Prof.  E.  S.  Bastin,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  has  kindly 
allowed  me  to  make  extracts  from  a  paper  read  by  him  at  the 
last  meeting  of  the  Social  Science  Association,  in  which  a  re- 
markable specimen  of  C.  spectabile  is  described.  It  was  "  found 
in  June,  1SS1,  in  the  pine  barrens  on  the  southern  end  of 
Lake  Michigan.  The  monstrosity  was  an  almost  regular  flower 
growing  on  the  same  stem  with  one  of  the  ordinary  form.  It 
possessed  three  broadly  lanceolate  sepals,  all  alike  and  not  at 
all  united.  It  had  no  lip,  but  three  regularly  formed  pure 
white  petals  all  of  the  same  size  and  shape,  as  long,  but  some- 


THE    ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  77 

what  narrower  than  the  sepals  and  alternating  with  them. 
Representing  the  first  circle  of  stamens  were  two,  instead  of 
one,  fleshy  dilatated  triangular  bodies  occupying  the  normal 
position,  that  is  alternating  with  the  petals.  They  resembled 
in  thickness  and  in  general  shape  the  one  in  the  normal  flower, 
and  were  also  spotted  like  it,  but  were  somewhat  smaller  and 
not  bent,  but  erect  or  nearly  so.  The  second  staminal  circle 
consisted  of  three  fully  developed  stamens  inserted  on  the 
column  opposite  the  petals  and  closely  resembling  those  of  the 
normal  flower  in  structure,  except  that  coalescence  with  the  style 
(the  part  of  the  pistil  that  bears  the  stigma)  was  less  complete, 
and  the  connective  or  projection  at  the  back  of  the  anther  was 
rather  more  distinct.  The  stigma  was  very  nearly  equally 
three-lobed,  and  the  lobes  were  conspicuous  and  arranged  alter- 
nately with  the  stamens.  The  column  was  but  slightly  bent, 
the  ovary  scarcely  twisted,  and  the  flower  was  but  slightly  bent 
to  one  side.  Here,  in  a  genus  affording  some  of  the  most  strik- 
ingly irregular  flowers  in  nature,  was  a  flower  all  but  regular, 
and  unsymmetrical  only  in  not  possessing  even  a  vestige  of  the 
third  stamen  of  the  first  staminal  circle.  This  specimen  tends 
to  establish  the  conclusion,  if  regarded  as  an  instance  of  rever- 
sion to  an  ancestral  type,  that  the  large,  fleshy  dilatated  trian- 
gular organ  of  the  ordinary  flower  is  the  rudiment  of  a  stamen 
belonging  to  the  outer  staminal  circle.  No  doubt  the  organ  orig- 
inated by  the  disappearance  of  the  anther  and  the  broadening 
and  thickening  of  the  filament  and  its  extension,  the  connective. 
In  fact,  in  the  monstrosity  under  consideration,  the  fertile  sta- 
mens were,  when  viewed  from  the  back,  very  much  like  minia- 
tures of  the  two  rudiments  of  the  outer  circle. 

"  The  missing  stamen  of  the  outer  circle  had  left  no  trace  be- 
hind, and  there  was  no  evidence,  either  from  difference  in  size  or 
difference  in  venation  of  the  petals,  that  it  had  become  confluent 
with  one  of  them.  It  would  seem  probable  that  the  lip,  if  it  is 
a  compound  organ  at  all,  is  made  up  merely  of  the  lower  petal 


78 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAXD. 


united  to  the  stamen  of  the  inner  circle  that  would  normally 
come  opposite  to  it." 

Mr.  S.  I.  Smith,  of  Norway,  Maine,  in  some  notes  read  before 
the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  in  1863,  says  that  he 
came  on  a  bunch  of  this  Lady's  Slipper,  "  which  was  almost 
covered  with  numbers  of  a  minute  flower-beetle,  apparently 
attracted  by  the  nectar-like  fluid  that  moistens  the  long  hairs 
in  the  labellum.  These  beetles  were  crawl- 
ing over  the  flowers  in  every  direction  ;  and 
presently  one  crawled  from  one  of  the 
lateral  petals  up  the  column,  over  one  of  the 
pollinia  with  some  difficulty,  and  out  upon 
the  stigma.  This  was  repeated  three  or 
four  times  by  different  individuals ;  some 
returning  by  way  of  the  column,  others 
passing  over  the  sterile  stamen  on  to  the 
labellum.  Several  beetles  passed  from  the 
lateral  petals  down  to  the  labellum  without 
touching  the  pollinia  or  the  stigma.  Only 
two  were  seen  to  alight  upon  any  of  the 
flowers ;  and  one  of  these  went  into  the 
labellum  without  touching  the  pollinia  or 
stigma ;  the  other  passed  over  both.  Near- 
ly all  the  beetles,  when  examined  with  a 
lens,  were  found  to  have  little  masses  of 
pollen  attached  to  them  ;  and  many  could  scarcely  walk  for 
this  reason.  Most  of  the  flowers  on  which  the  beetles  were 
found  had  been  fertilized,  and  under  a  strong  lens  showed 
minute  particles  of  pollen  among  the  sharp  pointed  papillae 
which  beset  the  stigma.  Of  many  flowers  from  different  places, 
nearly  all  had  the  pollen  removed  in  minute  particles  from  the 
anther  to  the  stigma ;  but  in  two  or  three  instances  the  pollen 
had  been  removed  in  one  mass  as  if  by  some  large  insect." 
Turn    now   from    this,  our    largest    Orchid,    to    the    Dwarf 


1 

Fig.  23.— Dwarf  Orchis 
Habenaria  obtusata. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  jg 

Orchis,  H.  obtusata,  contented  with  a  few  inches  in  stature 
and  two  quiet  colors,  green  and  white.  "The  flowers  are 
rather  large  for  the  size  of  the  plant  ;  the  anther-cells  are 
curved  like  a  bow  and  widely  separated."  Sir  William  Hooker 
somewhere  gives  a  plate  of  this  Habenaria,  and  in  an  enlarged 
drawing  of  the  lip  shows  two  oval  spots  at  the  base — these 
serving,  probably,  to  attract  insects  by  secreting  nectar.  You 
come  across  this  species  almost  anywhere  in  the  Green  Moun- 
tains (particularly  on  Mansfield,  Camel's  Hump  and  Killington 
Peak)  from  the  last  of  June,  on  through  July;  in  the  sub- 
Alpine  region  of  the  White  Mountains  in  August  ;  and  early 
in  the  same  month  at  Mt.  Desert.  Gray  follows  this  Habe- 
naria north  of  Lake  Superior,  and  the  Geological  Exploration 
of  the  40th  Parallel  made  known  its  existence  in  Colorado. 

There  is  a  sandy  tract  of  country  lying  to  the  north-east  of 
Burlington,  where  patches  of  original  forest  alternate  with 
second-growth  timber,  and  roads  go  zigzagging  as  if  trying  to 
find  their  way  out — a  fascinating  exploring  ground  if  one  is 
not  vexed  by  the  dust  and  the  depth  to  which  his  wheels  sink, 
because  apparently  so  unpromising.  I  was  not  favorably  dis- 
posed toward  it,  when  introduced,  one  day  toward  the  middle 
of  July,  for  I  was  returning  from  Mt.  Mansfield,  and  the 
impressions  produced  by  the  mighty  scenery  left  behind ;  the 
gorges,  the  leafy  silences,  the  contest  of  mist  and  wind  on  the 
summit,  still  had  me  in  their  hold,  but  as  we  turned  from  the 
highway  into  a  narrow  track  and  wound  under  low-hanging 
boughs  of  pine  and  oak,  the  despised  region  began  to  rejoice 
and  blossom  at  every  step.  In  the  grassy  openings  where 
feasts  of  late  strawberries  tempted  us  to  loiter,  stood  row  after 
row  of  Turk's-cap  lilies,  their  brilliancy  somewhat  softened  by 
the  bindweeds  that  thrust  up  their  cool  white  cups  among  the 
ferns  already  dappled  with  brown  and  gold.  At  last  we  parted 
the  branches  and  came  out  on  the  shore  of  a  little  pond,  so 
lonely  and  so  black  that  it  would  have  depressed  us  had  it  not 


3q  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

been  dotted  with  water-lilies  and  spangled  along  its  marshy 
edge  with  the  leaves  of  the  sun-dew,  and  here,  side  by  side, 
grew  the  objects  of  our  search,  Calopogon  pidchelliis  and  Pa- 
gonia  ophioglossoides,  whose  harsh,  and  to  me  always  irritating 
names,  seemed  at  that  time  peculiarly  inharmonious. 

These  Orchids  may  be  styled  inseparable,  for  there  are  few 
extensive  bogs  that  do  not  afford  both ;  and  the  more  danger- 
ous the  morass,  the  more  untrustworthy  the  scow  you  have 
discovered  on  the  shore  of  lake  or  creek,  the  more  confident 
you  may  be  that  your  prize  is  awaiting  you — just  out  of  reach. 
The  genus  Calopogon  is  represented  in  the  Eastern  United 
States  by  three  or  four  species,  but  one  of  which  favors  New 
England,  and  this,  sometimes  known  as  the 
Grass  Pink,  wears  colors  that  one  would  not 
naturally  select  to  go  together.  Nature  has 
combined  the  white  and  yellow  of  the  bearded 
lip  and  the  purple-pink  of  the  other  parts  with 
fig.  24.-Flower  of  her  usual  boldness,  but  the  result  is  not  suf- 
c.  pulchellus.  ficiently  agreeable  to  cause  us  to  notice  the 
flower  particularly,  on  that  account  alone.  The  peculiarity  of 
the  genus  is  that  the  ovary  is  not  twisted  as  in  all  our  other 
Orchids,  and  the  lip  is  therefore  in  its  proper  place  on  the 
upper  side. 

"The  type  of  most  Orchids  is  ternary,"  says  Meehan,  in 
Native  Flowers  and  Ferns  ;  "  in  other  words,  three  leaves  form 
a  verticil  in  them  whenever  the  spiral  growth  is  rapidly 
arrested,  and  the  spiral  coil  is  brought  down  to  a  plane.  We 
generally  look  for  three  leaves  on  the  flower  stem  of  an  Orchid 
of  this  kind  ;  but  in  this  species,  C.  pulchellus,  only  the  central 
one  has  been  developed,  while  the  lower  has  advanced  no 
farther  than  a  reddish-brown  sheath,  and  the  third  or  upper  one 
has  been  so  entirely  absorbed  by  the  stem  that  only  a  small 
reddish-brown  spot  is  left  to  show  where  the  leaf  might  have 
been.     In  the  flower,  however,  the  ternary  character  is  better 


Fig  25.— Adder'  s-mouth  Pogonia.     (P.  ophioglossoMes.) 
Grass  Pink.    (Calopogon  pulchellus.) 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  83 

developed.  The  lowermost  division  (lowermost  in  the  accom- 
panying figure),  and  the  two  upper  ones  form  the  lower  series 
or  verticil,  or,  as  it  would  be  called  in  other  orders,  the  calyx. 
The  lower  leaf  (lower  as  before  noted),  if  the  3  were  drawn 
out  on  a  stem  as  real  green  leaves,  would  be  the  upper  or  3d  in 
the  cycle,  and  we  see  that  it  has  begun  to  change  its  form.  The 
next  drawing  in  of  the  spiral  twist,  which  has  resulted  in 
another  cycle  or  verticil  of  3  leaves  brought  down  to  one 
plane,  has  ended  by  bringing  the  upper  normal  leaf,  and  the 
most  changeable,  as  we  have  already  seen,  just  opposite  to 
where  the  twisting  of  the  lower  verticil  ended.  ...  In 
other  Orchids  .  .  .  another  twist  takes  place  in  the 
ovarium  just  as  the  petals  are  about  to  open  and  after  all  the 
twisting  so  far  described  has  been  done,  and  the  result  is  that 
the  lip  (which  in  our  flower  is  the  uppermost  leaf  of  the  2d 
verticil)  assumes  the  position  of  the  lowermost  part  of  the 
flower.  In  Calopogon  the  extra  twist  has  not  occurred,  and  the 
result  of  this  limited  torsion  is  that  the  lip  forms  the  upper 
instead  of  the  lower  part  of  the  flower." 

Some  Orchids  have  the  foot-stalk  twisted  instead  of  the 
ovarium,  Darwin  says.  In  either  case,  "  from  slow  changes  in 
the  form  or  position  of  the  petals,  or  from  new  sorts  of  insects 
visiting  the  flowers,  it  might  be  advantageous  to  the  plant  that 
the  labellum  should  resume  its  normal  position  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  flower,  as  is  actually  the  case  with  Malaxis paludosa 
and  some  species  of  Catasetum,  etc.  This  change  .  .  .  might 
be  simply  effected  by  the  continued  selection  of  varieties 
which  had  their  ovaria  less  and  less  twisted ;  but  if  the  plant 
only  afforded  varieties  with  the  ovarium  more  twisted,  the 
same  end  could  be  attained  by  the  selection  of  such  variations, 
until  the  flower  was  turned  completely  round  on  its  axis." 
Thus  in  Malaxis  paludosa,  "  the  labellum  has  acquired  its  pres- 
ent upward  position  by  the  ovarium  being  twisted  twice  as 
much  as  usual." 


84  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

In  newly  opened  flowers  of  Calopogon  the  lip  bends  over  the 
column,  and  Professor  Goodale,*  speaking  as  if  this  were  its 
ordinary  position,  calls  it  "  an  arched  roof  decorated  with  at- 
tractive colors."  Gray  describes  it  as  "  distant  from  the  col- 
umn," and  I  do  not  think,  myself,  that  the  arched  position  is 
retained  very  long,  but  that  the  lip  usually  appears  as  an  invit- 
ing signal,  held  aloft  above  an  open-faced,  easily  entered  flower. 
In  Calopogon,  the  column,  free  from  the  lip  or  barely  hinged  to 
it,  curves  like  the  keel  of  a  boat,  and  is  lobed  on  either  side  of 
the  apex  where  the  lidded  2-celled  anther  with  its  4  soft  pollen- 
masses,  "  lightly  connected  by  delicate  threads,"  is  situated. 
As  Goodale  expresses  it :  "  the  lateral  stamens  (seen  in  Cypri- 
pedium)  are  missing,  but  the  one  corresponding  to  the  sterile 
stamen  in  Cypripedium  is  here  that  bearing  the  pollen."  The 
stigmatic  surface  lies  in  front  of  the  anther,  between  the 
lobes. 

"The  anther,"  says  Hervey,  in  Beautiful  Wild  Flowers, 
"  is  a  thin-walled  cup,  hinged  on  its  back  with  the  extreme 
end  tissues  of  the  column.  It  lies  in  a  little  hollow  and 
faces  inward  toward  a  thin  partition  wall  which  is  raised  up  at 
that  point  across  the  axis  of  the  column.  The  stigma  is  on 
the  other  surface  of  this  partition,  and  of  course  still  nearer 
the  centre  of  the  flower.  The  ripened  anther,  when  touched 
by  a  body  moving  in  a  direction  away  from  the  centre  of  the 
flower,  will  roll  upward  on  its  hinge  with  the  greatest  possible 
ease,  exposing  the  pollen-masses  to  contact  with  the  disturbing 
body.  .  .  .  The  stigmatic  surface  which  .  .  .  lies  on 
the  other  side  of  the  wall  that  closes  the  mouth  of  the  anther 
is  in  exactly  the  right  place  and  position  to  be  fertilized  by 
pollen  from  another  flower  upon  the  under  surface  of  his  (the 
insect's)  body  .  .  .  and  he  will  most  certainly  touch  the 
anther  at  the  end  of  the  column  with  that  part  of  his  body.'* 

The  scape  rises  from  a  small  bulb,  an  offset  from  that  of  the 
*  Wild  Flowers  of  America. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  85 

previous  year,  and  as  this  Orchid  bears  from  2  to  9  flowers  it  is 
naturally  more  abundant  than  the  Pogonia  in  their  locality ; 
indeed,  Meehan  says,  it  rarely  fails  to  perfect  its  seed-vessels, 
and  he  also  calls  it  fragrant,  a  compliment  that  has  been  paid 
by  Burroughs,  as  well ;  and  here  again  I  fail  to  agree,  deriving 
much  consolation  from  the  recent  editions  of  Gray's  Manual, 
which  have  dropped  the  adjective  used  in  former  years.  The 
Adder's-mouth  or  Snake-mouth  Pogonia,  P.  op/iiog/ossoides, 
on  the  other  hand,  always  has  a  decided  odor  like  that  of 
violets,  and  I  recall  no  wild  flower  of  as  pure  a  pink  unless  it  is 
the  Sabbatia  (chloroides).  Barton's  conscientious  attempts  at 
description  delight  me,  and  in  this  case,  his  "  peach-blossom 
red  "  would  probably  satisfy  most  masculine  admirers  of  the 
Pogonia.  To  the  yellow  bearded  lip  that  makes  the  Arethusa 
so  bright,  it  adds  a  pretty  tuft  of  purple-pink,  and  if  the  Are- 
thusa is  striking  in  its  appearance,  this  Pogonia  is  to  be  praised 
for  its  refinement.  It  figures  as  an  Arethusa,  in  old  botanies, 
but,  to  recall  one  point  of  difference ;  in  that  genus,  it  will  be 
remembered,  the  base  of  the  lip  adheres  to  the  column.  Gray 
mentions  a  "  monster "  flower,  found  in  New  York  State, 
which  had  "two  additional  lips  and  some  other  petaloid 
parts."  The  root  of  this  species  consists  of  long,  worm-like 
fibres. 

Outside  of  New  England,  C.  pulchelhis  ranges  from  Florida, 
through  Arkansas  and  Nebraska  to  Minnesota,  and  as  P.  ophio- 
glossoides  is  found  in  Florida,  I  take  it  that  it  keeps  the  Calo- 
pogon  company  westward.  I  have  seen  specimens  of  this 
Pogonia  from  Japan,  and  should  think  it  would  appeal  strongly 
to  the  native  artists  as  a  subject  for  caricature  or  realistic 
treatment,  but  as  yet  I  have  not  recognized  it  on  any  vase 
or  fan. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History 
(Vol.  IX.,  1863),  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Scudder  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of    the    fertilization    of   this    Pogonia :    "  The   flower    is 


86  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

thrust  out  at  nearly  right  angles  to  the  upright  stem,  the  col- 
umn being  a  little  raised  from  the  horizontal  ;  the  shield-shaped 
stigmatic  surface  is  situated  at  the  upper  front  portion  of  the 
column,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  pretty  deep  clinandrum  with 
an  elevated,  jagged  border,  and  to  the  hind  part  of  this,  the 
curiously  shaped  auriculated  anther  is  attached  by  a  narrow 
elastic  hinge  which  compels  the  anther-lid  to  remain  deeply 
seated  in  the  clinandrum,  whose  thin,  jagged  edges  border  it  on 
every  side.  Upon  the  under  surface  of  the  anther-lid,  as  it 
thus  lies,  are  situated  the  two  bunches  of  pollen,  confluent, 
forming  a  prominent  oval  mass,  which  a  slight  touch  may  re- 
move. The  thin  edges  of  the  clinandrum  do  not  border  the 
anther-lid  equally  on  every  side,  for  if  it  were  so,  the  raising  of 
the  lid  would  brush  the  prominent  pollen-masses  against  the 
front  edge,  causing  the  pollen  to  fall  useless  into  the  bottom  of 
the  pit,  and  thus  render  the  plant  self-destructive  :  to  obviate 
this,  the  edge  of  the  clinandrum  in  front  is  hollowed  and  thrust 
forward  slightly,  leaving  sufficient  room  for  the  passage  of  the 
pollen-masses  at  the  raising  of  the  lid  :  the  resulting  space  is 
not,  however,  left  completely  open,  but  as  if  to  prevent  the  ac- 
cidental removal  of  the  pollen-masses,  the  lower  front  edge  of 
the  anther-lid  is  furnished  with  a  row  of  fringe  of  elongated 
papillae,  quite  effectually  closing  the  opening.  So  by  this  means, 
although  the  masses  of  pollen  and  the  stigmatic  surface  are  in 
close  contiguity,  they  are  entirely  prevented  by  the  exact  struct- 
ure and  sculpture  of  the  parts  of  the  flower  from  ever  com- 
ing in  contact  with  one  another  except  through  foreign  aid ; 
for  the  pollen-masses  are  seen  to  be  completely  packed  away  in 
a  deep  pit,  pressed  down  by  a  ponderous  lid,  whose  elastic 
hin^e  will  not  allow  its  elevation  without  considerable  force ; 
and  should  by  any  possibility  a  portion  of  the  pollen  escape 
through  the  opening  in  front,  rarely  effectually  closed  by  the 
fringe,  it  would  drop,  not  upon  the  stigmatic  surface,  but  upon 
the  lip,  opposite  to  it. 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  87 

"  An  insect  flying  to  the  flower  and  intent  on  its  sweets, 
would  alight  on  the  lip,  and  creeping  in  would  strike  its  head 
and  back  first  against  the  protruding  anther-lid,  only  pressing  it 
down  more  tightly,  effecting  nothing,  and  then  against  the  stig- 
matic  surface.  The  passage  into  the  flower  is  narrow,  allowing 
no  room  for  anything  but  a  very  small  insect  to  turn  round  in, 
so  that  no  sooner  does  the  insect  withdraw  itself  backward, 
than  the  top  of  the  back  and  of  the  head,  striking,  as  it  almost 
infallibly  must,  against  the  front  of  the  anther-lid  (which  at 
its  upper  portion  projects  forward  somewhat  in  order  the  more 
readily  to  catch  the  passing  head),  raises  it  more  and  more  with 
its  continued  withdrawal,  rolling  the  outer  and  under  surface  of 
the  lid  against  the  upper  and  front  portion  of  the  head  of  the 
insect  till  it  has  passed,  when  the  lid  snaps  back  to  its  original 
position,  leaving  the  pollen-masses  adhering  to  the  upper  por- 
tion of  the  front  of  the  insect's  head ;  or  if  only  a  portion  of 
the  pollen  be  removed,  the  lid  being  closed  again  is  ready  for 
the  services  of  the  next  visitor.  The  insect  flies  to  another 
flower,  and  striking  with  the  top  of  the  head  plump  against  the 
stigmatic  surface,  leaves  the  pollen  glued  to  it. 

"  Besides  the  prominence  of  the  front  of  the  anther-lid,  the 
fringe  upon  the  under  side  of  the  lid  in  front  is  directed  slightly 
outward,  and  may  assist  by  becoming  entangled  or  interlocked 
in  the  hairs  of  the  retreating  insect  and  more  surely  effect  the 
raising  of  the  lid.  The  edges  of  the  column  on  either  side  of  the 
stigmatic  surface  project  outward  a  little,  making  a  shallow 
channel  for  the  better  guidance  of  the  insect  toward  it  ;  and  it 
does  not  seem  too  fanciful  to  suppose  that  the  heavy  beard 
upon  the  lip,  through  which  the  insect  must  pass  with  difficulty, 
may  cause  it  to  walk  through  it  as  it  were  on  tip-toe,  in  order 
to  raise  its  abdomen  high  above  the  obstacle,  and  therefore  to 
strike  more  surely  the  stigmatic  surface  on  entering  and  the 
anther-lid  on  retiring.  There  is  besides  another  curious  fact : 
on  raising  the  lid  it  will  be   seen  that  is  does  not  open  alto- 


88  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

gether  as  we  should  expect  it,  but  is  thrust  forward  a  little,  ap- 
parently through  some  elasticity  of  the  hinge,  so  that  the  pollen- 
masses,  when  the  lid  is  partially  open,  are  found  to  reach  a 
position  nearly  as  far  forward  as  the  projecting  front  of  the  lid 
did  when  closed,  although  on  the  removal  of  the  pressure  it 
will  revert  to  its  original  position ;  this  again  seems  to  lend  its 
aid  in  the  same  direction. 

"  Out  of  nine  flowers  examined,  seven  had  both  pollen-masses 
and  stigmatic  surface  intact ;  the  other  two  had  each  their  stig- 
matic  surface  smeared  with  pollen,  and  the  pollen-masses  in  one 
wholly,  and  in  the  other  partially,  removed.  The  plant  very 
generally  has  but  a  single  flower,  so  that  by  what  has  been 
stated  it  will  be  seen  that  with  rare  exceptions  no  plant  is  ever 
fertilized  by  its  own  pollen.  It  is  stated  by  Prof.  Gray  in  his 
Manual  of  Botany,  that  the  Arethuseas  all  have  the  fertile  anther 
like  a  lid  over  the  column,  and  that  this  is,  after  a  time,  decidu- 
ous. It  may  be  questioned  on  this  account  whether  it  might 
not  here  prove  to  be  directly  capable  of  self-fertilization  ;  but 
in  one  plant  examined  in  which  the  pollen-masses  had  been 
removed,  the  stigmatic  surface  smeared  with  pollen  and  the 
petals  of  the  flower  quite  withered,  the  lid  still  remained  and 
no  loss  of  elasticity  in  the  hinge  was  noticed,  so  that  the  anther 
probably  does  not  fall  off  till  a  period  subsequent  to  the  fertili- 
zation of  the  plant.  In  another  plant,  not  yet  showing  any 
signs  of  decay,  where  the  pollen  had  been  partially  removed, 
that  which  remained  was  much  discolored,  and  even  seemed  to 
show  signs  of  decay,  as  if  but  a  temporary  exposure  to  the  at- 
mosphere were  injurious  to  it. 

"  This  Orchid  agrees  more  nearly  with  Dendrobium  chrysan- 
thum  than  with  any  other  mentioned  by  Darwin,  but  differs 
peculiarly  from  that  in  altogether  wanting  a  rostellum,  a  sec- 
ond of  the  characteristic  features  shared  by  most  Orchids 
which  is  wanting  in  this  plant,  the  pollinia  (having  no  caudicle 
and  disc)  being  the  first." 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


89 


The  Large  Coral-root,  C.  multiflora,  shows  itself  in  dry 
woods  about  this  time,  in  Vermont,  dull  pink,  purple  and 
yellow  shading  into  each  other  on  its  scape  and  blossoms, 
and  a  decided  knob  borne  on  the  ovary  answering  to  a  spur. 
This  species  is  found  in  Washington  Territory  and  California, 
as  well  as  in  the  Northern  States  and  Canada,  and  it  was  found 
in  one  locality  at  an  elevation  of  7,000  feet 
by  the  explorers  of  the  40th  Parallel,  their 
botanical  report  describing  it  as  flowering  in 
July,  and  having  "  sepals  and  petals  strongly 
veined."  Our  New  England  woods  bring 
forth  at  the  same  time  another  parasitic 
plant,  puzzlingly  like  a  Coral-root  to  the 
young  collector,  and  this,  known  as  Epiphe- 
gus  or  Beech-drops,  is  a  stiff,  unhappy  look- 
ing thing,  which,  if  it  really  masquerades  as 
an  Orchid,  quite  overdoes  the  business  by 
branching  into  a  low  shrub  and  blooming 
more  profusely  than  Multiflora  even. 

Having  spoken  rather  disparagingly  of  the 
Coral-roots,  I  scarcely  know  how  to  de- 
scribe or  to  make  my  finest  pointed  pencil 
flatter  the  One-leaved  Adder's  Mouth,  Mu 
crostylis  monophyllos,  or  the  other  species, 
coming  later  in  July,  M.  ophioglossoides  ;  di-  fig.26.— adders' Mouths. 

Microstylis    ophioglossoi- 

mmutive   bulbous  herbs  that  stagger  under  des. 

,,.  .       ,.,»  .,  linn  •        1       •        Microstylis    monophyllos. 

their  scientific  titles.  Wholly  attired  in 
green,  and  odorless,  they  are  well  concealed  in  their  swamps 
and  wet  forests,  but  to  the  tiny  gnats  and  flies  that  must  fer- 
tilize them  they  are  fully  as  important  as  the  gigantic  Lady's 
Slipper  that  may  overshadow  them  is  to  its  bee.  Here,  in 
each  flower,  are  spreading  sepals  and  petals  ;  a  long,  round 
column  with  an  erect  anther;  4  waxy  pollen-masses  in  one 
row.     The    coat    of   arms,    though    small,   is   legitimately-  dis- 


gO  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

played,  one  must  allow.  The  Adder's-mouth  Microstylis 
carries  its  leaf  near  the  middle  of  the  stem,  and  is  by  this 
feature  most  quickly  distinguished  from  the  other  species 
which  has  its  leaf  sheathing  the  base. 

It  was  observed  by  a  naturalist  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  that  in 
1882,  M.  ophioglossoides  was  very  common  in  that  region,  while 
few  specimens  of  M.  monophyllos  could  be  found.  In  1883,  tne 
reverse  was  the  case :  M.  mo?wphyllos  was  abundant,  and  only 
one  or  two  plants  of  the  other  species  noted.  This  habit  of 
appearing  and  disappearing  without  any  apparent  reason  is 
another  charm  of  the  Orchis  family.* 

Our  rarest  Orchid,  if  we  reject  the  doubtful. Pogonia  affinis,  is 
the  Crane-fly  Orchis,  Tipularia  discolor,  which  straggles  across 
the  sandy  woods  of  Massachusetts  into  Southern  Vermont,  and 
probably  into  New  Hampshire,  and  is  scarce  west  and  south  as 
well  as  in  New  England.  The  genus,  as  given  in  Gray,  follows 
Calypso  (one  would  say  that  fancy  needed  to  call  a  good  many 
intermediate  forms  back  to  life).  In  Tipularia  the  very  long 
spur  is  noticeable  ;  the  column,  as  is  not  the  case  in  Calypso,  is 
narrow  and  wingless  ;  the  lid-like  anther  is  terminal  and  not  "  be- 
low the  apex,"  and  the  "  2  waxy  pollen-masses,  each  2  parted  " 
are  "  connected  by  a  linear  stalk  "  instead  of  directly  to  the 
gland  of  the  stigma.  The  scape,  sheathed  at  the  base,  rises  like 
that  of  the  Aplectrum  from  one  of  several  connected  bulbs, 
and  as  with  Calypso  and  Aplectrum,  a  distinct  leaf  is  put  forth 
in  autumn.  The  flowers  of  T.  discolor  ("  distinguished  by  the 
blunt  tip  of  its  lip  from  a  recently  discovered  Himalayan 
species  "),  scattered  down  the  long,  angular  scape,  are  brown- 
ish-purple, but  attract  less  attention  than  the  green  column, 
which  is  very  much  exposed.  The  leaf  is  reddish-purple  while 
getting  its  growth,  and  is  smoother  in  texture  and  less  strongly 
veined   than    that   of  A.  hyemale,  but    approaches   it    in   size. 

*  The  same  irregularity  has  been  noticed  in  the  case  of  H.  ciliaris  and  P.  verti- 
rillala. 


Fig.  27.— Crane-fly  Orchis.    (Tipularia  discolor.) 

Also  front  view  of  flower,  side  view  of  column  and  lip, 

and  bulbs  with  offset. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  93 

Having  living  specimens  of  these  three  Orchids  in  my  garden, 
this  fall  (1883),  I  have  taken  pains  to  note  the  dates  when 
their  leaves  appeared  :  Calypso,  Sept.  2d  ;  Aplectrum,  Sept. 
9th ;  Tipularia,  Sept.  14th.  As  T.  discolor  blossoms  late  in 
July,  it  has,  one  might  say,  but  little  rest  from  toil,  and  some- 
how the  wriggling  spur  and  spreading  sepals  and  petals  convey 
the  idea  that  the  plant  really  has  a  good  deal  of  business*  on 
hand.  My  drawing  was  made,  I  should  add,  from  a  fine  and 
large  specimen. 

A  meadow  in  midsummer  presents  the  same  temptation  to  a 
pedestrian  that  an  untracked  sheet  of  ice  does  to  a  school-boy. 
There  is  a  great  satisfaction  in  making  the  first  break  in  the 
soft,  undulating  expanse  that  resists  the  knees  so  feebly ;  and 
your  path  is  sure  to  be  a  winding  one,  for  on  this  side  and  that, 
lilies,  rues  and  spiraeas  beckon,  and  as  their  beauty  will  not  avail 
them  when  the  scythe  is  whetted,  why  should  you  not  antici- 
pate it?  If  the  ground  is  at  all  damp  and  the  meadow  skirts 
some  woods,  notices  to  trespassers  will  fail  to  daunt  the 
stubborn  man  who  is  after  Fringed  Orchises  and  suspects  that 
some  are  secreted  among  the  bushy  knolls  and  hummocks. 

Habenaria  fimbriata  (O.  grandiflorci),  the  Large  Purple  or 
Tattered-fringe  Orchis,  less  common  than  the  smaller  and 
later  species,  H.  psycodes,  is  claimed  for  June  by  Rhode  Island ; 
while  dates  from  Burlington,  Vt.,  Claremont,  N.  H.,  and  Mt. 
Desert,  Me.,  would  seem  to  indicate  July  as  its  proper  period 
northward.  I  have  seen  leaves  as  broad  as  a  man's  hand, 
and  I  think  it  has  as  opulent  and  self-assured  an  air  as  any 
of  our  Orchids.  Its  loose,  feathery  spike,  which  saves  it 
from  any  imputation  of  coarseness,  always  suggests  to  me  a 
flock  of  birds  struggling  to  get  foot-hold  on  the  same  branch. 
A  curious  specimen  was  reported  to  the  American  Naturalist, 
not  long  ago  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Denslow,  of  Massachusetts,  in 
which  the  flowers  were  all  abnormally  developed  and  destitute 
•of  both  fringes  and  spurs,  and  the  herbarium  of  Columbia  Col- 


94 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


lege  contains  a  singular  form,  supposed  to  be  intermediate 
between  this  and  the  Smaller  Purple  Fringed-Orchis,  which 
has  the  middle  division  of  the  lip  merely  toothed  like  the 
petals.  Gray  describes  the  spike  or  raceme  of  H.  jimbriata,  as 
"  oblong,"  that  of  H.  psycodes  as  "  cylindrical  ;  "  the  petals  of 
the  former  as  "  denticulate  (or  toothed)  above,"  the  petals  of 
the  latter  as  "  toothed  down  the  sides." 

Thoreau,  who  found  both  these  Fringed  Orchises  in  Northern 
Maine,  grumbled  loudly  because  they  were  so  abundant  where 
only  moose  and  moose-hunters  could  see  them,  and  so  rare  in 
Concord.  Meehan  says  of  H.  fimbriata,  that  it  is  most  com- 
mon on  hilly  ground  (another  point  of  difference  between  it 
and  the  other  species),  that  it  ranges  from  New  England  to 
Michigan  and  Southern  Ohio,  and  that  England  produces 
species  "  but  little  different  in  appearance,"  some  of  them 
known  in  old  literature  as  Dead  Men's  Fingers,  Dead  Men's 
Thumbs,  and  Long  Purples  (O.  morio);  two  of  these  names 
occurring  in  Hamlet  in  the  passage  where  the  queen  describes 
the  manner  of  Ophelia's  death. 

"  In  the  stem  growth,"  the  same  writer  says,  "  there  has 
been  a  gradual  elongation,  but  we  see  that  it  takes  but  three 
leaves  to  make  a  full  circle  round  the  stem.  We  do  not  notice 
indications  of  the  spiral  growth  which  takes  these  leaves  round 
the  stem,  but  it  is  there.  It  is  the  more  sudden  twisting  and 
arresting  of  the  elongating  growth  that  make  the  set  of  3  sepals 
and  3  petals.  These  lengthenings  and  twistings  do  not  go  on 
with  regular  intensity,  but  as  in  waves,  sometimes  fast  and 
sometimes  slow.  If  we  watch  the  growth  of  the  flower  we 
shall  find  that  it  first  makes  a  slow  elongating  growth,  and  that 
the  twisting  comes  on  suddenly,  usually  taking  but  a  few  hours 
to  make  a  half  turn." 

"  The  two  side  divisions  of  the  lip,"  says  Gray,  "  aid  in 
hindering  approach  "  from  those  directions,  "  while  the  middle 
division  offers  a  convenient  landing-place  in  front.     The  con_ 


Fig.  28.— Large  Purple  Fringed-Orchis. 
Habenaria  fimbriata. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  gy 

tracted  base  of  the  lip  is  grooved,  or  with  incurved  margins, 
the  trough  leading  as  a  sure  guide  to  the  narrow  orifice  of  the 
nectary.  The  two  anther-cells  are  widely  separated,  but  little 
divergent ;  their  lower  ends  projecting  strongly  forward,  bring 
the  naked  discs  just  into  line  with  the  orifice  of  the  nectary. 
The  pointed  tip  of  a  pencil  brought  to  the  orifice  neatly 
catches  the  sticky  discs  and  brings  away  the  pollen-masses ; 
when  the  movement,  which  is  effected  within  a  quarter  or  a 
third  of  a  minute,  converges  them  just  enough  to  make  them 
hit  the  broad  stigma  (which  lies  rather  high)  upon  the  re-appli- 
cation of  the  pencil.  The  '  drum-like  pedicel '  (seen  in  H. 
Hookeri),  is  present  in  this  species  also,  but  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum ;  the  movement  which  takes  place  appears  to  result 
wholly  from  its  change  of  form,  the  portion  towards  the  anther 
contracting  most,  and  to  be  one  of  depression  solely." 

Habenaria  tridentata,  Barton's  Three-toothed  Orchis,  which 
has  already  been  mentioned  as  coming  close  to  the  True 
Orchises,  is  the  Orchis  tridentata  of  Muhlenberg  and  the 
Gymnadenia  tridentata  of  Lindley,  and  through  July  and 
August  at  the  North,  and  sometimes  as  late  as  August  in 
Eastern  Massachusetts,  presents  its  single  leaf  and  its  few 
greenish-white  flowers.*  This  Habenaria  resembles  H.  hyper- 
borca  in  that  the  anther-cells  open  "before  the  flower  bud," 
as  Gray  says,  "  is  fully  grown,  or  at  least  four  or  five  days 
before  the  flower  opens,  and  as  the  flowers  at  this  time  are 
horizontal  and  somewhat  reclining,  the  packets  of  pollen 
which  spontaneously  detach  themselves  from  the  pollen-mass 
may  fall  out.  In  every  case  of  flowers  opening  naturally,  the 
anther-cells  were  found  widely  gaping,  yet  so  far  as  we  can  see 
the  pollen-masses  cannot  of  themselves  fall  upon  or  reach  the 
stigmatic  surface."  There  are,  however,  in  this  Habenaria, 
"  three  club-shaped  projections  or  processes,  which  are    nearly 

*  I  have  drawn  them  a  little  too  large,  in  my  illustration  (Fig.  20). 
7 


98 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


alike,  one  outside  each  anther-cell,  and  one  between  them, 
which  rise  as  high  as  the  anther-cells,"  and  may  be  sterile 
stamens.  Their  surfaces  are  viscid  and  the  spontaneously 
detached  grains  of  pollen  stick  fast  to  them,  and  "  send  down 
pollen-tubes  freely  into  their  substance,  so  that  they  appear  to 
act  as  stigmas,  although  the  normal  stigma  is  found  in  its 
proper  place  and  of  ordinary  appearance  underneath  the 
discs."  This  real  stigma,  strangely  enough,  is 
not  as  viscid  as  the  surfaces  of  the  processes, 
but  "the  large  discs  are  in  perfect  condition  ; 
the  stems  of  the  pollen-masses  are  promptly 
depressed  when  removed." 

Habenaria  viresce7is,  the  Greenish  Orchis, 
agrees  with  the  foregoing  species  in  date,  in 
a  preference  for  wet  (but  more  open)  ground, 
and  a  little  in  the  character  of  its  flowers  as 
it  follows  in  natural  order.  H.  tridentatar 
according  to  Chapman,  is  found  as  far  south 
f  as  Mississippi ;  H.  virescens  occurs  in  Flor- 
ida, and  the  latter  has  been  as  plentifully 
endowed  with  titles  as  any  royal  personage ; 
O.  flava,  O.  bidentata,  H.  Jia'biola,  and  P. 
flava,  being  a  few  of  the  names  given  it  by 
different  writers.  "  The  structure  of  the  disc- 
bearing portion  of  the  column,"  says  Gray, 
"  answers,  perhaps,  to  what  is  expressed  by 
Lindley's  vague  character  of  Gymnadenia,  '  rostcllo  complicato] 
and  is  quite  different  from  that  which  prevails  in  the  more 
genuine  species  of  Platanthera.  Viewed  from  the  front  (on 
removing  the  lip),  each  disc  is  found  to  line  an  oblong  cavity 
or  deep  groove  :  viewed  vertically  from  above,  this  appears  as 
a  ring  with  the  front  edge  cut  away  or  as  something  more 
than  a  semicircle  lined  by  the  thin  broad  disc.  A  narrow, 
nose-shaped  protuberance  on  the  lip  projects  upward  and  back- 


Fig.  29.— Greenish 

Orchis. 
Habenaria  virescens. 


Fig.  30.— Small  Purple  Fringed-Orchis.     (Habenaria  psycodes.) 
Large  Round-leaved  Orchis.     (Habenaria  orbiculata.) 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  I0I 

ward  so  as  almost  to  touch  the  column  between  the  two  discs 
(or  rather  between  the  two  cups  or  grooves  that  contain  them) 
and  therefore  lying  over  and  dividing  the  orifice  of  the  spur. 
The  anther-cells  are  parallel  but  a  little  apart,  and  lie  almost  in 
line  with  the  lip,  but  with  their  front  ends  depressed  so  that  the 
discs  are  a  little  lower  than  the  base  of  the  protuberance. 
These  discs  and  this  protuberance  are  so  correlated  in  shape 
and  position  that  the  proboscis  of  an  insect  fitted  to  suck 
nectar,  inserted  obliquely  from  above,  as  it  must  be,  can- 
not keep  the  middle  line  at  the  entrance,  but  will  take 
right  or  left  of  the  protuberance,  and  so  slide  into  the 
disc-bearing  groove  of  that  side.  On  directing  a  delicate 
bristle  vertically  from  above  into  the  spur,  taking  either  side 
of  the  protuberance,  the  bristle  will  either  enter  the  discal 
groove  from  above  as  a  thread  enters  the  eye  of  a  needle,  or, 
if  presented  more  obliquely  from  the  front,  will  slide  into  the 
groove  when,  as  it  enters  the  spur,  it  is  raised,  as  it  must  be,  to 
a  more  vertical  position,  the  disc  clasps  the  bristle  and  is  with- 
drawn with  it  along  with  the  attached  pollinium.  It  is  evident 
that  in  this  species,  self-fertilization  cannot  occur,  that  only  one 
pollinium  will  be  likely  to  be  withdrawn  at  one  visit  of  an  insect, 
and  that  this  will  doubtless  be  conveyed  to  another  flower." 

A  correspondent  tells  me  that  he  is  not  familiar  enough  with 
the  Orchis  family  to  know  the  difference  between  H.  viresceHs 
and  H.  viridis,  but  if  he  bears  in  mind  the  fact  that  H.  virescens 
carries  a  spur,  and  H.  viridis  a  bag,  he  need  not  have  to  refer 
to  the  botany.  Or,  to  state  it  still  more  simply,  the  one  hav- 
ing the  longer  name  has  the  longer  nectary  of  the  two. 

If  there  is  a  more  enticing  place  than  a  boulder-strewn  hill- 
side pasture,  I  have  yet  to  find  it :  the  copses,  the  beds  of 
brake  and  fern,  the  grassy  basins  with  their  refreshing  springs, 
give  me  no  excuse  for  hastening  through,  even  on  a  July  after- 
noon ;  but  by  climbing  higher,  into  the  hemlock  woods,  I  hope 
to  be  repaid  by  seeing  the  Great  Round-leaved  Orchis,  H.  orbi- 


I02  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

cidata,  the  "  Heal-all  "  of  Pennsylvania.  Its  glossy  silver-lined 
leaves,  often  nine  inches  across,  lie,  like  those  of  H.  Hookeri 
(the  Small  Round-leaved  Orchis),  close  to  the  needle-strewn 
ground,  and  the  waspish  green  and  white  flowers  are  lifted  from 
one  to  two  feet  above  then.  "  Many  light-colored  flowers," 
writes  Miiller,  "  which  often  grow  in  shady  places,  are  inconspic- 
uous by  day  but  conspicuous  by  night  (e.  g.  Platanthera). 
These  are  chiefly  visited  by  crepuscular  Lepidoptera,*  but  in- 
sects are  excluded  not  so  much  by  the  color  as  by  the  situation 

of  the  honey  at  the  base  of  long,  nar- 
row tubes." 

The  arrangements  for  fertilization 
are  substantially  the  same  as  those  of 
H.  Hookeri.  "  The  way,"  says  Gray, 
"  in  which  the   anterior  (lower)   por- 

Fig.  31.— Head  of  Moth,   Sphinx 
dr  up  if erarum, with  attached  and  de-     tioil  of    the  anther-Cells  with  the  Com- 
pressed pollen-masses  of  Habenaria    ,   .         .  ,    .  ,  . 

orbicuiata.  bined  arms  of  the   stigma  taper  and 

Front  view  of  flower  of  Horbi.   project    forward,  so    as  to   raise    the 

culata,  showing  anther-cells  and  ex-     *        J 

posed  viscid  discs.  ^iscs    on    a  sort    0f   beak,  a    little    in 

Disc    and    part    of    pedicel.     (All 

from  Gray's  Botanical  Text  Book.)  advance  of  the  orifice  of  the  nec- 
tary, is  well  exhibited  in  Hooker's  figure  of  this  species  (H 
macrophylld)  in  the  Flora  Bor.  Amer.,  but  the  discs  do  not  look 
outwardly  in  the  manner  there  represented.  These,  being 
affixed  to  the  stalk  of  the  pollen-mass  laterally,  by  that  inter- 
mediate body  called  the  "  drum-like  pedicel  "  (here  developed 
perhaps  even  more  than  in  H.  Hookeri)  really  look  forward  and 
inward — in  fact  are  so  placed  that  they  will  be  sure  to  stick 
fast,  one  to  each  side  of  the  head  of  a  humble  bee  or  of  a  large 
moth  that  thrusts  its  proboscis  down  into  the  spur  so  as  to 
reach  the  nectar.  As  the  divergent  bases  of  the  anther-cells 
are  so  separated  by  the  broad  stigma  that  the  viscid  discs 
stand  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  inch  apart  and  the  full-grown  spur 
is  from  one  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  it  is  evident  that 
*  Butterflies,  moths,  etc.,  that  fly  after  sunset. 


Fig.  32.— Ladies'    Tresses. 
Spiranthes  Romanzoviana. 
Grassy  Spiranthes.     (S.  graminea,  Var.  Walteri.) 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  I05 

fertilization  is  effected  by  the  agency  of  large  Lepidoptera  and 
Hymenoptera.  The  movements  of  rotation  and  depression  are 
pretty  slow  but  distinct." 

This  species  ranges  Northwestward  to  Lake  Superior,  and  fol- 
lows the  Alleghanies  to  Virginia,  if  not  still  farther  south.  I 
have  placed  it,  in  the  illustration,  in  unnatural  combination 
with  H.  psycodes  that  the  coarseness  of  the  one  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  deKcacy  of  the  other. 

Three  species  of  Spiranthes  link  July  with  August.  5.  Roman- 
zoviana  bears,  like  5.  latifolia,  its  flowers  in  three  ranks  and  its 
leaves  at  the  base  of  the  stem.  Sepals  and  petals  unite  in  a 
close  hood  over  the  lip,  the  flowers  have  the  odor  of  violets, 
and  there  is  in  general  a  resemblance  to  the  -later  5.  ccrnua. 
A  physician  living  in  North-eastern  Vermont  writes  me  that  he 
has  jumped  from  his  carriage  many  a  time,  supposing  he  had  at 
last  found  this  Spiranthes ;  only  to  renew  again  his  acquaint- 
ance with  .S".  ccrnua. 

This  pretty  flower  has  not  been  credited  to  New  England  by 
the  botanies ;  but  inhabits  many  of  the  cold  upland  bogs  of  our 
three  northern  States.  Its  range,  as  given  in  the  Report  of  the 
Geological  Exploration  of  the  40th  Parallel,  is  remarkable. 
"  Maine  and  Canada  to  Lake  Superior,  the  Saskatchewan  and 
Washington  Territory ;  northward  to  Unalaska  and  southward 
to  California  and  Colorado.  East  Humboldt  Mts.,  6,000  to 
8,000  feet,  July-Sept."  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  this  Orchid  is 
confined,  in  Europe,  to  a  few  bogs  in  County  Cork,  Ireland,  and 
Prof.  Gray  would  have  it  that  "  these  are  merely  the  last  or 
among  the  last  lingering  stations  of  a  species  once  common  to 
both  continents."  I  accept  this  explanation  more  easily  but 
not  more  graciously  than  I  do  that  given  in  "  Colin  Clout's 
Calendar^  in  the  chapter  entitled,  ll  Some  American  Colonists," 
where  Grant  Allen  affirms  his  belief  that  the  seeds  were  carried 
across  the  ocean  by  chance,  at  some  remote  period.  Its  origin 
may  be  uncertain  but  not  so  its  end  ;  for  the  last  named  writer 


106  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

mournfully  says  :  "  the  ardor  of  modern  botanists  is  fast  putting 
an  end  to  its  brief  career,"  and  then  adds,  "  this  case  presents 
some  features  of  peculiar  interest,  because  the  Irish  specimens 
would  seem  to  have  been  settled  in  the  country  for  a  very  long 
period,  sufficient  to  have  set  up  an  incipient  tendency  toward 
the  evolution  of  a  new  species  ;  for  they  had  so  far  varied  be- 
fore their  first  discovery  by  botanists  that  Lindley  considered 
them  to  be  distinct  from  their  American  allies,  and  even  Dr. 
Bentham  originally  so  classed  them,  though  he  now  admits  the 
essential  identity  of  both  kinds." 

Spiranthes  graminea,  variety  Waltcri,  carries  one 
straight  rank  of  more  open  flowers  and  gets  its  ad- 
jective, "  grassy,"  from  the  localities  where  it  grows. 
A  more  lowland  species  than  the  last,  it  appears  to 
have  also  a  more  southward  range  and  to  be  most 
common  in  the  meadows  along  the  coast. 

Spiranthes  gracilis,  the  Slender  Spiranthes,  ar- 
ranging its  tiny  flowers  like  5.  graminea,  bears  its 
leaves  clustered  at  the  base  of  the  stem,  but  from 
their  small  size  and  their  habit  of  withering  when 
the  plant  flowers  they  count  for  very  little.  This 
F1G.33-F00TOF  Species   ordinarily  has  clustered  roots,  but   Dr.  N. 

Spiranthes  Ro-     x  j 

manzoviana.  L.  Britton,  of  Columbia  College,  has  found  it  in 
Ulster  Co.,  New  York,  with  a  single  tuber.  Nature  must  be 
fond  of  the  Slender  Spiranthes,  or  she  would  not  permit  it  to 
flourish  in  comparatively  dry  soil  and  to  enjoy  a  four  months' 
lease  of  life.  One  need  not  be  surprised  to  see  it  in  July  or  to 
gather  it  with  S.  cernua  in  October. 

In  the  structure  of  5.  gracilis  (and  of  vS.  cermia  as  well)  we 
have  a  more  more  complex  arrangement  than  one  would  dream 
existed  in  flowers  so  minute  and  unpretending;  as  is  shown  in 
Darwin's  account  of  the  British  5.  autumnalis.  The  stigma 
occupies  about  the  same  place  that  it  does  in  a  Habenaria. 
There  is  also  a  rostellum,  but   this  is  curiously  different  from 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


°7 


the  cup-shaped  one  of  Orchis  spectabilis,  and  may  be  described 
as  a  thin,  tapering  beak  or  projection,  a  shelf  as  it  were,  over 
the  stigma ;  its  tip  appearing  like  a  dark  dot  as  you  look  into 
the  flower.  On  this  shelf  lie  the  two  pollen-masses,  one  in 
each  cell,  composed  of  "  thin  and  tender  plates  of  granular  pol- 
len united  by  elastic  threads"  (these  plates  so  brittle  that  in  5. 
Romanzoviana  I  have,  on 
drawing  out  the  pollen- 
masses,  left  much  of  the 
pollen  behind).  "  In  the 
middle  of  the  rostellum/' 
to  quote  from  Darwin's  ac- 
count of  the  kindred  British 
species  5.  aiitinnnalis,  "  a 
narrow,  brown  object  (fig. 
34,  C)  may  be  seen,  bor- 
dered and  covered  by  trans-  *-  Threads  of  the  p°llen-  r.  Rosteiium. 

masses.  s.  Stigma. 

parent     membrane.        This  «•  Nectar  receptacle. 

,  i    •       ,     T        .f1         11   ,1         A.  Flower  with  the  two  lower  sepals  alone    re- 

brown  object  I  will  call  the  moved    The  labellum  has  its  lip  fringed> 

boat -formed  disc 
boat,  standing  vertically  up 
on  its  stern,  is  filled  with 
thick,  milky,  extremely  ad- 
hesive fluid,  which,  when 
exposed  to  the  air,  turns 
brown,  and  in  about  one 
minute  sets  quite  hard.  An  object  is  well  glued  to  the  boat 
in  four  or  five  seconds,  and  when  the  cement  is  dry  the  attach- 
ment is  wonderfully  strong. 

"  The  face  of  the  rostellum  next  the  stigma  is  slightly  fur- 
rowed in  a  longitudinal  line  over  the  middle  of  the  boat,  and  is 
endowed  with  a  remarkable  kind  of  irritability ;  for  if  the  fur- 
row be  touched  very  gently  with  a  needle,  or  if  a  bristle  be  laid 
along  the  furrow,  it  instantly  splits  along  its  whole  length,  and 


Fig.    34.— Spiranthes     autumnalis,     or     Ladies' 

Tresses.     (From  Dariuin.) 
a.  Anther.  cl.  Margin      of     clinan- 

/.  Pollen- grains.  drum. 


T  V»  j  c  B.  Mature  flower  with  all  the  sepals  and  petals  re- 
moved. The  position  of  the  labellum  (which 
has  moved  from  the  rostellum)  and  of  the  up- 
per sepals  is  shown  by  the  dotted  lines. 

C.  Front  view  of  stigma  and  of  the  rostellum  with 
its  embedded  central  disc. 

D.  Front  view  of  stigma  and  rostellum  after  the 
disc  has  been  removed. 

E.  Viscid  disc  removed  and  greatly  magnified,  view- 
ed posteriorily,  and  with  the  attached  elastic 
threads  of  the  pollen-masses;  the  pollen-grains 
have  been  removed  from  the  threads. 


I08  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

a  little  milky  adhesive  fluid  exudes.  The  fissure  runs  up  the 
whole  length  of  the  rostellum  from  the  stigma  beneath  to  the 
summit :  at  the  summit,  the  fissure  bifurcates,  runs  down  the 
back  of  the  rostellum  on  each  side  and  round  the  stern  of  the 
boat-formed  disc.  Hence  after  this  splitting  action  the  boat- 
formed  disc  lies  quite  free,  but  imbedded  in  a  fork  in  the  ros- 
tellum. When  a  bristle  is  laid  for  two  or  three  seconds  in  the 
furrow  of  the  rostellum,  and  the  membrane  has  consequently- 
become  fissured,  the  viscid  matter  within  the  boat-formed  disc, 
which  lies  close  to  the  surface,  and  indeed  slightly  exudes,  is 
almost  sure  to  glue  the  disc  longitudinally  to  the  bristle,  and 
both  are  withdrawn  together,  and  the  two  sides  of  the  rostel- 
lum are  left  sticking  up  like  a  fork.  This  is  the  common  con- 
dition of  the  flowers  after  they  had  been  open  a  day  or  two 
and  have  been  visited  by  insects.     The  fork  soon  withers. 

"  Long  before  the  flower  expands,  the  anther-cells,  which  are 
pressed  against  the  back  of  the  rostellum,  open  in  their  upper 
part  so  that  the  included  pollen-masses  come  into  contact  with 
the  back  of  the  disc.  The  projecting  ends  of  the  threads  unit- 
ing the  leaves  of  pollen  (which  in  Ophrys  become  true  stalks 
or  caudicles),  then  became  firmly  attached  to  rather  above  the 
middle  part  of  the  back  of  the  disc.  The  anther-cells  after- 
ward open  lower  down,  and  their  membranous  walls  contract 
and  become  brown;  so  that  by  the  time  the  flower  is  fully  ex- 
panded, the  pollen-masses  lie  almost  naked,  their  bases  (thick 
ends)  resting  in  a  little  cup  formed  by  the  withered  anther-cell 
and  protected  on  each  side  by  a  membrane  which  extends 
from  the  edges  of  the  stigma  to  the  filament  (stalk)  of  the 
anther,"  and  forms  another  cup  or  "  clinandrum."  These 
membranous  sides  of  the  clinandrum  are  thought  to  be  the 
rudiments  of  the  two  anthers  which  are  seen  in  a  developed 
state  in  Cypripedium,  only.  "  These  rudiments  aid  their 
brother  anther." 

"  The  lip  is  channelled  down  the  middle ;  the  nectar  is  col- 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


IO9 


lected  in  a  smaller  receptacle  in  the  lower  part  of  the  lip,"  and 
on  either  side  of  the  orifice  there  is  "  a  globular  process  or 
swelling  which  secretes  nectar."  When  the  flower  first  opens 
the  receptacle  contains  nectar,  and  at  this  period  the  front  of 
the  rostellum  lies  close  to  the  channelled  lip,  consequently  a 
passage  is  left,  but  so  narrow  that  only  a  fine  bristle  can  be 
passed  down  it,  and  a  bee  could  not  pass  down  its  proboscis 
without  touching  the  furrow  of  the  rostellum.  "  At  this 
period,  the  stigma  is  only  slightly  viscid."  The  pollen-masses 
could  now  be  easily  removed,  but  the  passage  is  so  narrow  "  that 
the  pollen-masses  attached  to  a  proboscis  cannot  possibly  be 
forced  in  so  as  to  reach  the  stigma  ;  they  would  either  be  up- 
turned or  broken  off  ;  but  after  a  day  or  two  the  column  moves 
a  little  farther  from  the  lip,  and  a  wider  passage  is  left."  Bees, 
as  he  observed,  "  always  alighted  at  the  bottom  of  a  spike  and 
crawling  spirally  up  it,  sucked  one  flower  after  another,  the 
most  convenient  method  ;  on  the  same  principle  that  a  wood- 
pecker climbs  up  a  tree  in  search  of  insects."  If  a  bee 
alighted  on  the  top  of  a  spike,  "  she  would  certainly  extract  the 
pollen-masses  from  the  uppermost,  last  opened  flowers  ;  but 
when  visiting  the  next  succeeding  flower,  of  which  the  column 
in  all  probability  would  not  as  yet  have  moved  from  the  lip 
(for  this  is  very  slowly  effected),  the  pollen-masses  would  be 
brushed  off  her  proboscis  and  wasted. 

"  But  nature  suffers  no  such  waste.  The  bee  goes  first  to  the 
lowest  flower,  but  effects  nothing  on  the  first  spike  till  she 
reaches  the  upper  flowers,  and  then  she  withdraws  the  pollen- 
masses.  She  soon  flies  to  another  plant,  and  alighting  on  the 
lowest  and  oldest  flower,"  which  now  has  a  wide  passage,  "  the 
pollen-masses  will  strike  the  protuberant  stigma.  If  this 
stigma  has  already  been  fully  fertilized,  little  or  no  pollen  will  be 
left  on  its  dried  surface  ;  but  on  the  next  succeeding  flower,  of 
which  the  stigma  is  adhesive,  large  sheets  of  pollen  will  be  left. 
Then,  as  soon  as  the  bee  arrives  near  the  summit  of  the  spike, 


IIO  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  EXGLAND. 

she  will  withdraw  fresh  pollen-masses,  will  fly  to  the  lower 
flowers  of  another  plant,  and  thus  fertilize  them  ;  as  she  adds 
to  her  store  of  honey,  she  perpetuates  the  race  of  our  autumnal 
Spiranthes  which  will  yield  honey  to  future  generations  of 
bees." 

Habenaria  lacera,  the  Greenish  or  Ragged-fringed  Orchis,  is 
a  common  species  at  this  period  in  open  or  partly  shaded,  wet 
places  ;  and  I  have  known  it  to  live  on  contentedly  when  its 
locality  had  been  drained  and  tunnelled  by  the  gas  and  water 
pipes  of  an  encroaching  town.  Sweet,  in  his  British  Flower 
Garden,  calls  it  the  Torn-flowered  Habenaria,  and  calls  atten- 
tion to  "its  elegantly  jagged  appearance."  "It  must,"  says 
Gray,  "  be  very  attractive  to  some  insects,  the  pollen-masses 
are  so  generally  removed  from  oldish  flowers  and  the  stigma 
fertilized.  The  nectary  can  be  approached  only  from  the  front, 
the  sides  being  guarded  by  a  broad  and  thick  shield  on  each  side 
— the  arms  of  the  stigma  much  developed — above  supporting 
the  anther,  while  its  inner  and  concave  face  bears  the  remarka- 
bly long  and  narrow  viscid  discs.  These  guards  or  arms  of  the 
stigma  project  forward  like  beaks  ;  the  viscid  discs  are  "  as 
long  as  the  stalks  of  the  pollen-masses,  are  directly  attached  to 
them  near  the  middle,  and  nearly  face  each  other.  When  de- 
tached, a  movement  of  depression  takes  place  by  which  the 
pollen-mass  is  brought  down  so  as  to  be  nearly  parallel  to  the 
disc  and  close  to  it — just  in  proper  position  to  reach  a  stigma. 

Dwarf  the  flowers  of  //.  fimbriata,  increase  their  number, 
deepen  their  color,  shorten  their  fringes,  and  the  Small  Pur- 
ple Fringed-Orchis,  H.  psycodes,  stands  before  you  :  a  variety, 
some  think,  of  the  former  species.  It  may  appear  in  a  grassy 
ditch  by  a  roadside  ;  perhaps,  holding  its  soft  plume  above  the 
tangled  brakes,  sedges  and  poison  ivy  in  your  nearest  meadow ; 
always  refined  wherever  it  grows.  As  with  H.  lacera  and  H. 
fimbriata,  says  Gray,  "  a  development  of  the  sides  of  the  col- 
umn as  a  kind  of  guard,  protects  the  discs,  preventing  all  ready 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF   NEW   ENGLAND.  ni 

access  to  the  nectary  except  from  the  front.  A  short  bristle, 
slid  along  the  base  of  the  lip  and  into  the  nectary  for  some 
distance,  will  not  touch  the  viscid  discs,  they  lying  a  little  too 
far  back ;  but  on  pushing  it  down  deep  into  the  long  and 
curving  spur  (only  the  lower  half  or  quarter  of  which  is  filled 
with  nectar)  it  has  to  be  bowed  back  somewhat,  when  it 
catches  the  disc  ;  so  that  before  an  insect  can  have  drained  the 
nectary,  the  pollen-masses  will  be  affixed  to  the  base  or  upper 
part  of  its  proboscis,  or  to  the  forehead  of  a  smaller  insect. 
When  extricated,  the  movement  of  depression  is  prompt — 
within  a  few  seconds — and  on  re-application,  the  pollen  is 
accurately  brought  into  contact  with  the  stigma.  The  anther- 
cells  are  widely  separated  but  little  divergent,  their  tapering 
bases  (supported  as  in  H.  lacera),  project  strongly,  the  discs 
looking  forward  and  downward.  In  both  H.  psycodes  and  H. 
lacera  the  nectar  appears  to  be  much  more  plentiful  in  the 
spurs  of  older  flowers  than  of  freshly  opened  ones,  most 
so  indeed  in  blossoms  which  had  their  pollen  removed  and 
their  stigma  fertilized  several  days  before,  and  which  were 
becoming  effete.  In  such  flowers  the  spur  was  often  half  full 
in  the  present  species,  and  sometimes  almost  full  in  H.  lacera. 
But  although  little  had  dripped  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
spur  in  freshly  opened  blossoms,  the  walls  were  moistened  with 
nectar  throughout  its  length." 

The  botanist  quoted  when  C.  spectabile  was  spoken  of,  gives 
in  the  same  paper  some  observations  made  at  different  times 
during  the  month  of  August.  "  A  Sesia*  began  to  suck  nectar 
(from  a  plant  of  H.  psycodes),  poised  on  the  wing.  It  visited 
more  than  a  dozen  flowers,  proceeding  spirally  up  the  spike, 
and  I  found  about  thirty  pollinia  attached  to  its  proboscis 
near  the  base.  They  were  all  in  a  space  of  less  than  a  tenth 
of  an  inch  in  length  and  much  crowded.  Those  nearest  the 
tip  of  the  proboscis  had   lost   much  of  their  pollen  by  contact 

*  S.   Thysbe,  Fabr. 


II2  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

with  many  stigmas."  At  another  time,  "  a  Sesia  *  sucked 
nectar  from  every  open  flower  on  one  spike :  when  caught,  it 
had  about  twenty  pollinia  attached  to  it  ;  both  moths  had  pro- 
boscides  so  encumbered  with  the  pollinia  that  it  was  impossible 
for  them  to  be  coiled  up  between  the  palpi.  The  shortness  of 
the  time  occupied  in  the  depression  of  pollinia  in  this  species 
and  the  time  that  the  insects  remained  at  one  plant  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  upper  flowers  on  the  spike,  at  least, 
were  fertilized  by  pollen  from  the  same  plant.  I  have  fre- 
quently seen  the  orthopterous  insect  Phancroptera  curvicaiida, 
Serv.,  feeding  upon  the  flowers  of  this  Orchid,  but  could  not 
find  that  they  ever  effected  its  fertilization,  although  pollinia 
were  several  times  found  attached  to  their  feet." 

The  author  once  examined  four  spikes  of  H.  psycodcs  to  see 
what  their  attendant  insects  had  accomplished.  The  plants 
grew  near  together  in  a  damp  hollow  by  a  shady  roadside. 
Omitting  45  that  had  set  their  seed,  there  were  in  all  182 
open  flowers  (one  spike  bore  64  blossoms,  two  of  them  double, 
and  the  plant  was  twenty-three  inches  high),  and  of  this 
number,  69,  mostly  on  the  upper  parts  of  the  spikes,  had  had 
no  pollen  removed ;  49  had  lost  both  pollen-masses ;  61  had 
lost  one  apiece,  34  removed  from  the  right  hand,  27  from 
the  left.  In  the  case  of  one  spike  where  but  8  flowers  had  lost 
both  pollen-masses  and  19  had  lost  but  one,  only  5  had  been 
taken  from  the  left  hand.  I  found  one  pollinium  sticking  by 
its  disc  to  a  stigma,  and  one  I  removed  myself  fell,  striking 
the  stigma,  not  with  its  heavy  end  as  one  would  suppose,  but 
with  its  disc.  I  questioned  whether  the  pollinia  might  not  be 
occasionally  shaken  out  of  their  cells  by  hard  winds,  but  this 
was  improbable  ;  and  in  Miiller's  work  I  have  since  found  an 
explanation.  Speaking  of  humble-bees  caught  with  pollen- 
masses  on  them,  he  says,  "  we  frequently  observed  .  .  . 
that  when  the  pollen-masses  bent    forward  the    bee  was  able 


S.  diffinis,  BoisJ. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NE  W  ENGLAND.  \  \  3 

to  tear  them  off  with  its  mandibles.  Some  bees  which  we 
caught  with  pollinia  on  their  heads  had  them  attached  to  their 
fore-legs  when  examined  shortly  afterward.  These  frequently 
successful  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  bees  to  free  themselves 
from  the  pollinia  explain  why  we  often  find  whole  pollinia  or 
pairs  of  pollinia  attached  to  the  flowers,  generally  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  stigma." 

These  flowers  I  have  just  described  had  a  rank  smell,  and  I 
do  not  remember  that  I  ever  found  a  really  fragrant  specimen 
of  this  Fringed-Orchis,  though  it  is  the  only  Habenaria  called 
fragrant  by  Gray. 

In  some  parts  of  Vermont,  H.  psy codes  bears  the  picturesque 
name  of  "  Flaming  Orchis,"  which  ought  rather  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  Yellow  Fringed-Orchis,  H.  ciliaris,  fit  symbol  of 
the  wealth  and  glow  of  August  ;  resplendent  in  orange  and 
gold,  not  only  in  sepals  and  petals  but  even  in  spurs  and 
ovaries,  and  admitting  but  one  rival,  the  cardinal  flower,  burn- 
ing its  torch  well  into  September  in  Northern  New  England. 
In  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  where  it  is  local  but  abun- 
dant, it  is  not  unfrequently  met  with  in  July.  Near  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  as  I  am  informed,  there  is  a  bog  in  which  it  is 
"  almost  a  weed,"  but  one  must  go  west  or  south  to  get  it  by 
the  wholesale.  There  are  places  near  New  York,  for  instance, 
where  it  grows  by  the  acre.  If  I  had  my  own  way,  it  should 
never  grow  in  bogs  among  coarse  pitcher  plants;  it  needs  a 
richer  background  ;  but  in  ferny  meadows  bordering  a  sandy 
brook,  as  it  does  in  a  jealously  guarded  spot  I  know  of  in 
Guilford,  Conn. ;  and  if  I  ever  write  a  romance  of  Indian  life, 
my  dusky  heroine,  Birch  Tree  or  Trembling  Fawn,  shall  meet 
her  lover  with  a  wreath  of  this  Orchis  on  her  head. 

The  White  Fringed-Orchis,  H.  blephariglottis,  known  as  the 
Feather-leaved  Orchis  in  some  localities  on  Cape  Cod,  grows 
with  H.  ciliaris,  and  as  Gray  well  says,  "  commonly  takes  its 
place  northward."     This   species  does   not  grow   as  high,   has 


ii4 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


smaller  flowers  less  conspicuously  notched  and  fringed,  while 
there  is  a  variety,  holopetala,  that  has  these  adornments  re- 
duced to  a  minimum.  H.  blepliariglottis  closely  resembles  its 
gayer  sister  in  appearance  and  structure,  and  by  reason  of  its 
purity  is  quite  as  fascinating.  Gray  considers  these  species  to 
be  "  chiefly  remarkable  for  having  their  viscid  discs  projecting 
much  more  even  than  in  H.  orbicalata, 
the  anterior  part  of  the  anther-cell  and 
the  supporting  arm  of  the  stigma  united 
tapering  and  lengthened  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  viscid  discs  are  as  if 
raised  on  a  pedicel,  projecting  consider- 
ably beyond  the  rest  of  the  column. 
pH  The  anther-cells  are  nearly  horizontal, 
greatly  divergent,  but  inclined  somewhat 
inward  at  the  ends ;  so  that  the  discs  are 
presented  forward  and  slightly  inward, 
at  least  in  H.  blepliariglottis,  or  in  H. 
ciliaris  more  directly  forward.  Evi- 
dently these  projecting  discs  are  to  be 
stuck  to  the  head  of  some  nectar-suck- 
ing insect.  The  stigma,  which  is  rather 
small,  is  between  the  lateral  arms,  in  the 
same  horizontal  line  with  the  discs :  the 
discs  are  small  but  quite  sticky  and  di- 
rectly affixed  to  the  extremity  of  a  stalk 
which  in  just  proportion  to  the  forward 
elongation  of  the  anther-cell,  etc.,  is  re- 
markably long  and  slender,  twice  or  thrice  the  length  of  the 
pollen-mass  it  bears.  Upon  removal,  a  slight  bending  or 
turning  of  the  slender  stalk  brings  the  pollen-mass  into  posi- 
tion for  reaching  the  stigma.  The  discs  in  ordinary  flowers  of 
H.  ciliaris,  are  about  a  line  and  a  half  apart  (the  English  line 
is  the  twelfth  part   of  an  inch),  the  slender  spur  an  inch  long, 


Fig.  35. — Yellow  Fringed- 

Orchis. 

Habenaria  ciliaris. 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  n$ 


from  which  somewhat  of  the  structure  and  size  of  the  insect 
adapted  to  the  work  in  hand  may  be  estimated." 

These  two  Habenarias  have  curious  white  ear-shaped  append- 
ages on  the  outside  of  the  anther,  small  in  size  but  so  strongly 
contrasted  in  H.  ciliaris  with  the  yellow  of  the  anther  as  to  be 
conspicuous  ;  and  if  the  reader  has  a  good  herbarium  to  turn 
to,  he  will  probably  notice  that  these  little  auricles  are  visible 
without  a  glass,  in  both  species,  and  have  kept  their  color  after 
the  other  parts  have  turned  brown.  I  can  find  no  printed  allu- 
sion to  them  ;  even  Gray's  Manual,  which  carefully  mentions  the 
strange  club-shaped  processes  in  H.  tridentata,  being  silent  on 
this  point.  Professor  Gray  writes  me  that  he  has  noticed  these 
"  crests,"  as  he  calls  them,  but  does  not  think  they  correspond 
to  the  fertile  stamens  in  Cypripedium.  Is  not  the  answer  to 
this  pretty  riddle  hidden  away  somewhere  in  the  following 
passage  from  Darwin? 

"  Although  the  two  anthers  az  and  a2  of  the  inner  whorl 
(see  Fig.  2)  are  not  fully  and  normally  developed  in  any  Orchid, 
excepting  Cypripedium,  their  rudiments  are  generally  present 
and  are  often  utilized ;  for  they  often  form  the  membranous 
sides  of  the  cup-like  clinandrum  on  the  summit  of  the  column. 
These  rudiments  thus  aid  their  fertile  brother  anther.  In  the 
young  flower-bud  of  Malaxis paludosa  the  close  resemblance  be- 
tween the  two  membranes  of  the  clinandrum  and  the  fertile 
anther  in  shape  and  texture  was  most  striking  ;  it  was  impos- 
sible to  doubt  that  in  these  two  membranes  we  had  two  rudi- 
mentary anthers.  In  Liparis  pendula  and  some  other  species, 
these  two  rudimentary  anthers  form  not  only  the  clinandrum, 
but  likewise  wings,  which  project  on  each  side  of  the  entrance 
into  the  stigmatic  cavity,  and  serve  as  guides  for  the  insertion 
of  the  pollen  masses.     .     .     . 

"  In  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  Ophreae  and  Neotteae  two 
small  papillae,  or  auricles  as  they  have  often  been  called,  stand 
in  exactly  the  position  which  the  anthers  ax  and  a2  would  have 


16 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


occupied  had  they  been  developed.  Not  only  do  they  stand 
in  this  position  but  the  column  in  some  cases  .  .  .  has  on 
each  side  a  prominent  ridge,  running  from  them  to  the  bases 
or  mid-ribs  of  the  two  upper  petals ;  that  is,  in  the  proper 
position  of  the  filaments  of  these  two  stamens.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  doubt  that  the  two  membranes  of  the  clinandrum  in 
Malaxis  are  formed  by  these  two  anthers  in  a  rudimentary  and 
modified    condition.       Now,  from   the    perfect  clinandrum    of 

Malaxis,  through  that  of 
Spiranthes,  Goodyera,  Epi- 
pactis  latifolia,  and  E.  pa- 
lustris,  to  the  minute  and 
£  slightly  flattened  auricles 
S^  in  the  genus  Orchis,  a 
perfect  gradation  can  be 
traced.  Hence  I  conclude 
that  these  auricles  are 
doubly  rudimentary ;  that 
is  they  are  rudiments  of 
the  membranous  sides  of 
the  clinandrum,  these  membranes  themselves  being  rudiments 
of  the  two  anthers  so  often  referred  to.  .  .  .  Such  vessels 
may  quite  disappear.  .  .  .  The  two  upper  anthers  of  the 
inner  whorl  are  fertile  in  Cypripedium,  and  in  other  cases  are 
generally  represented  either  by  membranous  expansions  or  by 
minute  auricles.  .  .  .  These  auricles,  however,  are  some- 
times quite  absent,  as  in  some  species  of  Ophrys."  * 

Summer,  in  her  flight,  invariably  forgets  to  drop  one  flower 
from  her  cornucopia  at  the  proper  time ;  at  least  it  seems  so, 
when  we  behold  at  this  late  day,  in  damp  woods,  a  little  plant 
that  brings  the  Pogonias  to  mind.  It  is  the  Nodding  or  Pendent 
Pogonia  (P.  pcndald),  and  has  still  another  name,  Triplwra  pen- 
dula,  none  as  musical  as  the  rustic  one,  Three  Birds.     This  Po- 


FlG.  36. 

1.  Front  view  of  flower  of  Yellow  Fringed-Orchis. 

2.  Side  view  (natural  position). 

3.  The  anther  with  its  auricle. 

4.  A  pollinium. 

5.  Flower  of  Green  Fringed-Orchis.   {From  Sweet.) 


*  See,  also,  Sachs'  Text  Book  of  Botany,  1872,  p.  603. 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


17 


gonia  has  a  tuberous  root  ;  the  delicate  blossoms,  one  or  more 
in  number  (3-7  according  to  Chapman),  vary  in  color  from  pale 
rose  to  pure  white  and  have  a  slight  odor.  The  lip  is  prettily- 
cleft  or  lobed,  and  has  in  place  of  a  crest,  three  tiny  green  lines, 
which  I  am  inclined  to  suspect  secrete  nectar.  "  A  comparison 
between  the  different  Pogonias,"  says  Meehan,  "  establishes 
confidence  in  the  doctrine  that  all  the  parts  of  a  flower  are  but 
modifications  of  simple  leaves — in  P.  pendida,  the  vegetative 
force  seems  feeble,  and  spends  itself  in  often-repeated  attempts  ; 
hence  small  leaves  and  insignificant  flowers  are  scattered  all 
along  the  stem,  but  in  P.  verticillata  the  force  exercised  is 
evidently  greater,  not  only  in  amount  but  also  in  degree,  and  its 
action  is  more  concentrated.  The  stem,  therefore,  instead  of 
slowly  elongating  and  sending  out  a  leaf  and  a  flower  here  and 
there,  rapidly  draws  in  its  spiral  coils,  thus  producing  only  a 
whorl  of  leaves,  and  annihilating  all  tendency  to  flower  in  the 
axils,  after  which  it  makes  another  growth  and  then  another 
sudden  arrest  and  coil,  resulting  in  a  large  single  flower.  In  P. 
opJiioglossoides  the  acting  force  was  intermediate  in  intensity. 
Having  coiled  up  the  primordial  leaves  to  form  the  flower  stem, 
the  force  was  not  powerful  enough  to  arrest  the  formation  of 
the  leaves  suddenly,  and  it  therefore  still  left  them  somewhat 
scattered.  The  lowermost  leaf  is  little  more  than  a  sheathing 
scale.  The  next  shows  by  the  groove  down  the  stem  oppo- 
site how  very  near  it  came  to  diverging  still  more  than  it  actu- 
ally does  from  the  interior  leaves  out  of  which  the  stem  is 
formed  ;  and  the  upper  one  by  its  greatly  reduced  size,  reveals 
the  fact  that  the  force  employed  in  arresting  the  elongating 
growth  and  in  working  up  all  the  separate  parts  into  a  flower 
is  now  in  active  operation."  * 

Spiranthes  simplex,  the  Simple  Spiranthes,  "  Aug.-Sept.,"  a 
low,  narrow-spiked  species,  graces  the  dry  and  sandy  pastures 
of  the  three  southern  States,  especially  along  the  coast ;  scarce, 

*  Native  Flowers  and  Ferns,  I.  Series,  Vol.  I, 


Il8  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

perhaps,  or  confounded  with  other  species,  as  I  have  but  lately 
been  able  to  hear  of  a  station  in  Connecticut.  Like  the  other 
Spiranthes,  it  ranges  as  far  south  as  Florida,  and  except  with 
us,  appears  to  be  common  enough.  Its  root  is  a  "  solitary, 
spindle-shaped  or  oblong  tuber;"  it  loses  its  leaves,  which  grow 
like  those  of  5.  gracilis,  in  a  cluster  at  the  ground,  at  flowering, 
and  produces  "  very  short  "  blossoms. 

So  many  weeds  and  wild  plants  have 
white  spikes  or  tufts  of  flowers  that  I 
am  not  surprised  when  people  to 
whom  I  have  shown  one  of  our 
Ladies'  Tresses  tell  me  they  have 
never  seen  it  before ;  and  then  again, 
the  time  when  the  Ladies'  Tresses  are 
due  is  not  one  when  there  is  much 
exploration  of  the  fields,  unless  it  is  by 
hunters,  or  "  city  folks  "  who  are  more 
\q  likely  to  have  their  eyes  directed 
upward    toward    a    white    birch    they 

FXG.37-NOODXNGPOGONIA.  Wailt         t0         ™^  OV  SCribbk        their 

p.  penduia.  names    on    than    toward    the    ground 

they  are  tramping  over,  but  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the 
Rattle-snake  Plantains  should  not  be  known  to  every  one,  for 
all  the  year  round  their  pretty  rosetted  leaves  ornament  the 
woods. 

The  genus  Goodyera,  to  which  they  belong,  contains  some 
twenty-five  species,  scattered  over  Europe,  temperate  and 
tropical  Asia,  and  North  America,  and  forms,  according  to 
Darwin,  "  an  interesting  connecting  link  between  several  very 
distinct  forms."  There  are  points  of  resemblance  to  both 
Orchis  and  Spiranthes,  and  accordingly  Goodyera,  in  our  bot- 
anies, stands  between  these  two  genera.  Two  of  our  species, 
G.  pub  esc  ens  and  G.  repens,  are  common  to  Great  Britain,  and  in 
describing    the     latter,    which     he     calls    a    "rare     Highland 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAXD,  l}g 

Orchid,"  Darwin  mentions  first  the  "  shield-like  rostellum," 
a  feature  at  once  recalling  the  True  Orchises.  This  is  almost 
square,  and  projects  beyond  the  stigma  ;  it  "  is  supported  on 
each  side  by  sloping  sides  rising  from  the  upper  edge  of  the 
stigma,  in  nearly  the  same  manner  as  in  Spiranthes.  The  sur- 
face of  the  protuberant  part  of  the  rostellum  is  rough,  and 
when  dry,  can  be  seen  to  be  formed  cf  cells  ;  it  is  delicate  and 
when  slightly  pricked,, a  little  milky  viscid  fluid  exudes;  it  is 
lined  by  a  layer  of  very  adhesive  matter,  which  sets  hard 
quickly  when  exposed  to  the  air.  The  protuberant  surface  of 
the  rostellum,  when  gently  rubbed  upward  (as  it  would  be 
when  an  insect  withdrew  its  head)  is  easily  removed,  and 
carries  with  it  a  strip  of  membrane  to  the  hinder  part  of  which 
the  pollen-masses  are  attached.  The  sloping  sides  which  sup- 
port the  rostellum  remain  (as  in  Spiranthes)  projecting  up  like 
a  fork  and  soon  wither."  The  pollen-masses  become  attached 
to  the  back  of  the  rostellum,  much  as  in  Spiranthes,  and  also 
before  the  flower  expands,  and  the  anther-cell  "  ultimately 
opens  widely,  leaving  the  pollen-masses  almost  naked  but  par- 
tially protected  within  the  membranous  cup  uniting  the  fila- 
ment or  supporting  thread  of  the  anther  to  the  edges  of  the 
stigma.  The  pollen-grains  cohere  in  packets  as  in  Orchis,"  and 
these  packets  are  tied  together  by  strong  elastic  threads, "  which 
at  their  upper  ends  run  together  and  form  a  single  flattened 
brown  elastic  ribbon,  of  which  the  truncated  extremity  adheres 
to  the  back  of  the  rostellum. 

"  The  surface  of  the  orbicular  stigma  is  remarkably  viscid, 
which  is  necessary  in  order  that  the  unusually  strong  threads 
connecting  the  pollen  packets  should  be  ruptured.  The  lip  is 
partially  divided  into  two  portions ;  the  tip  is  reflex ed,  and  the 
basal  portion  is  cup-formed  and  filled  with  nectar."  Gray, 
speaking  of  this  same  species  says,  "  All  freshly  opened  blos- 
soms have  the  column  so  directed — a  little  bowed  forward 
—that  the  tip  of  the.  disc  and  of  the  anther  are   presented  to 


!20  THE    ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

view  as  you  look  into  the  narrow  opening  of  the  flower  ;  and  a 
proboscis  or  bristle  introduced  and  following  as  it  will  the 
curvature  of  the  lip-like  or  nozzle-shaped  apex  of  the  lip,  and 
passed  down  to  its  nectar-bearing  base  will  inevitably  hit  the 
disc,  and  if  detained  a  moment,  will  bring  the  pollinia  away 
when  withdrawn.  On  re-introduction,  the  pollen-masses  will 
not  pass  down  to  the  stigma,  but  lodge  on  the  upper  side  of 
the  column,  from  which  they  were  taken.  But  on  looking  into 
older  flowers  of  the  same  spike,  still  fresh  and  good,  whether 
their  pollen-masses  have  been  extracted  or  not,  the  stigma  is 
in  full  view,  the  summit  of  the  column  being  now  turned  some- 
what upward  and  backward ;  and  there  is  now  room  enough  be- 
tween it  and  the  lip,  for  the  pollen  to  pass  ;  indeed,  now  the  pol- 
len-masses will  regularly  hit  the  stigma."  Bees  proceed,  there- 
fore, in  visiting  these  flowers  just  as  they  do  when  visiting  the 
Ladies'-Tresses.  The  description  of  the  fertilization  of  G.  repensy 
I  should  have  said  before,  agrees  with  that  of  G.pubescens. 

Darwin  again  says  :  "  In  no  other  member  of  the  Neottieae 
(the  tribe  to  which  Goodyera  and  Spiranthes  belong),  ob- 
served by  me  is  there  so  near  an  approach  to  the  formation  of 
a  true  stalk,  and  it  is  curious  that  in  this  genus,  Goodyera,  alone, 
the  pollen-grains  cohere  in  large  packets,  as  in  the  Ophrese  " 
(the  tribe  containing  with  us  Orchis  and  Habenaria).  "  In 
the  rostellum  being  supported  by  sloping  sides,  which  wither 
when  the  viscid  disc  is  removed — and  in  the  existence  of  a 
membranous  cup  or  clinandrum  between  the  stigma  and 
anther — and  in  some  other  respects,  we  have  a  clear  affinity 
with  Spiranthes.  Goodyera  probably  shows  us  the  state  of 
the  organs  in  a  group  of  Orchids,  now  mostly  extinct,  but  the 
parents  of  many  living  descendants."  In  the  chapter  entitled, 
"  Gradation  of  Organs,"  he  traces  the  development  of  the 
caudicle  or  stem  of  the  pollen-mass  in  the  different  genera. 
"As  I  find  that  chloroform  has  a  peculiar  and  energetic  action 
on  the  caudicles  of  all  Orchids,  and  likewise  on  the   glutinous 


££» 


FlG#  38 —Rattle-snake  Plantains. 
Goodyera  pubescens.     Goodyera  repens. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  l2\ 

matter  which  envelopes  the  pollen-grains  in  Cypripedium  and 
which  can  be  drawn  out  into  threads,  we  may  suspect  that  in 
this  latter  genus— the  least  differentiated  in  structure  of  all 
the  Orchidese — we  see  the  primordial  condition  of  the  elastic 
threads  by  which  the  pollen-grains  are  tied  together  in  other 
and  more  highly  developed  species.  ...  In  some  Neotteae, 
especially  in  Goodyera,  we  see  the  caudicle  in  a  nascent  con- 
dition projecting  just  beyond  the  pollen-mass,  with  the  threads 
only  partially  coherent.  ...  In  the  Ophreae  we  have  bet- 
ter evidence  than  is  offered  by  gradation,  that  their  long,  rigid 
and  naked  caudicles  have  been  developed,  at  least  partially,  by 
the  abortion  of  the  greater  number  of  the  lower  pollen-grains 
and  by  the  cohesion  of  the  elastic  threads  by  which  these 
grains  were  tied  together.  I  had  often  observed  a  cloudy 
appearance  in  the  middle  of  the  translucent  caudicles  in  cer- 
tain species  ;  and  on  carefully  opening  several  caudicles  of  O. 
pyramidalis,  I  found  in  their  centres  fully  half  way  down 
between  the  packets  of  pollen  and  the  viscid  disc,  many  pollen- 
grains  (consisting  as  usual,  of  four  united  grains),  lying  quite 
loose.  These,  from  their  embedded  position,  could  never  by  any 
possibility  have  been  left  on  the  stigma  of  a  flower,  and  were 
absolutely  useless."  He  supposes  that  "  the  changes  have  not 
always  been  perfectly  effected,  and  that  during  and  after  the 
many  inherited  stages  of  the  abortion  of  the  lower  pollen- 
grains,  and  of  the  cohesion  of  the  elastic  threads,  there  still  ex- 
isted a  tendency  to  the  production  of  a  few  grains  where  they 
were  originally  developed ;  and  these  were  consequently  left 
entangled  within  the  now  united  threads  of  the  caudicle.  .  .  . 
The  little  clouds  formed  by  the  loose  pollen-grains  within  the 
caudicles  of  O.  pyramidalis  are  good  evidence  that  an  early  pro- 
genitor of  this  plant  had  pollen-masses  like  those  of  Goodyera, 
and  that  the  grains  slowly  disappeared  from  the  lower  parts, 
leaving  the  elastic  threads  naked  and  ready  to  cohere  into  a 
true  caudicle." 


124 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


The  Downy  Goody  era,  G.  pnbescens,  Barton's  Veined-leaved 
Neottia,  with  its  popular  names  of  Adder's  Violet  and  Scrofula 
Weed,  is  our  best  known  and  most  common  species,  and  its 
blue-green  velvety  leaves  may  be  seen  in  hanging-baskets  at 
any  florist's.  Josselyn,  New  England's  Rarities,  1672,  sup- 
poses it  to  be  a  Pyrola,  and  says  of  the  leaves,  "the  Ground 
whereof  is  a  sap  Green  embroydered  (as  it  were)  with  many 
pale  yellow  Ribs."  Dewey  speaks  of  the  "  elegant  appear- 
ance "  presented  by  this  plant,  and  of  its  great  reputation. 
among  herb  and  Indian  doctors,  though  in  the  only  case  in 
which  he  saw  it  applied,  "  no  results  followed."  Pursh  says  it 
has  a  wide-spread  reputation  as  an  infallible  cure  for  hydro- 
phobia, and  the  American  Herbal,  published  at  Walpole,  N.  H., 
in  1 801,  by  Sam.  Stearns,  LL.D.  (who  gives  as  a  prescription 
for  dyspepsia,  a  mixture  of  ants'  eggs  and  buttermilk),  men- 
tions the  Rattle-snake  Plantain  as  follows:  "Country  people 
use  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  for  skin  diseases,  and  Captain 
Carver  says  the  Indians  are  so  convinced  of  its  power  as  an 
antidote  that  they  allow  a  snake  to  drive  its  fangs  into  them, 
then  chew  the  leaves  and  apply  them  to  the  wound." 

The  Creeping  Goodyera,  G.  rcpens,  considered  by  many  ta 
be  a  variety  of  the  former,  and  not,  as  Darwin  and  Gray  both 
maintain,  a  distinct  species,  rarely,  if  ever,  attains  to  the  height 
of  a  foot.  Its  leaves  are  more  pointed  than  those  of  the  other, 
more  openly  veined,  and  yellow-green  in  color  ;  the  flowers  are 
not  crowded  on  the  spike,  but  fewer  and  arranged  in  a  row  ; 
but  intermediate  forms  are  not  uncommon.  The  difference  in 
the  color  of  the  leaves  is  sufficiently  marked  to  be  noticed  by 
one  passing  quickly  through  the  place  where  both  species  grow. 
I  once  found  a  very  beautiful  group  of  G.  pnbcsccns :  the  leaves 
were  a  dull  blue  with  scarcely  a  tinge  of  green,  and  instead 
of  the  usual  net-work  of  veins,  there  was  a  silvery  frost-work 
over  them.  Goodyera  Menziesii,  a.  species  added  to  our  New 
England  Flora  within  a  few  years  by  the  intrepid  explorations 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  125 

of  Miss  Furbish  in  the  extreme  north  of  Maine,  is  larger  than 
the  others,  and  in  the  structure  of  its  flowers,  says  Gray,  closely 
resembles  Spiranthes.  "  The  lip  is  barely  saccate  below,  .  .  . 
anther  ovate  and  long-pointed,  borne  on  the  base  of  the  very 
short  proper  column,  which  is  continued  above  the  stigma  into 
a  conspicuous  long  tapering  awl-shaped  gland-bearing  beak. 
Flowers  rather  numerous  in  a  looser  often  i-sided  spike  ; 
flower-buds  less  pubescent  (confounded  with  G.  pubescens)!' 

The  leaves  of  the  only  living  specimens  I  have  seen,  and 
those  poor  ones,  were  much  like  those  of  G.  repens  in  shape 
but  stiffer  and  less  strongly  marked.  The  net-work,-  Gray  says, 
is  sometimes  entirely  wanting.  Like  the  other  species,  this 
has  a  "  root  of  thick  fibres,  from  a  somewhat  fleshy  creeping 
root-stock."  It  derives  it  specific  name  from  that  of  the 
explorer  Menzies. 

A  little  pamphlet,  entitled  Plants  of  Maiden  and  Medford 
(Mass.),  arranging  the  species  found  in  those  localities  accord- 
ing to  the  months  in  which  they  bloom,  has  G.  pubescens 
down  for  May,  a  most  unwarranted  performance  for  it,  and  one 
it  does  not  attempt  here  in  Vermont,  though  in  very  early  sea- 
sons it  might  be  found  the  latter  part  of  June  ;  still,  we  do  not 
expect  it  before  August.  Once  in  a  while  G.  repens  surprises  us 
in  July,  though  this  is  later  than  G.  pubescens,  and  being  more 
of  a  northern  and  mountainous  plant  it  tempts  the  early  frosts 
by  lingering  on  through  September.  G.  Mejtziesii  agrees  with 
it  in  date.  G.  repens,  I  find,  grows  in  the  Caucasus  mountains, 
and  Prof.  Gray  tells  us  that  in  America  it  crosses  the  line  of 
6o°.  G.  Menziesii,  which  is  the  Spiranthes  decipiens  of  Hooker, 
ranges  westward  as  far  as  California,  where  it  is  found  under 
the  groves  of  sequoia,  and  in  all  probability  it  outstrips  G. 
repens  in  the  attempt  to  reach  the  Arctic  Ocean.  G.  pubescens, 
is  widely  distributed  in  the  eastern  and  southern  United 
States,  and  together  with  G.  repens  is  found  on  the  Carolina 
mountains. 


126 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


I  do  not  often  find  a  Rattle-snake  Plantain  in  bloom  ;  and  an 
experienced  botanist,  whose  travels  in  our  State  cover  a  wide 
and  varied  tract  of  country,  assures  me  (1883)  that  he  has  not 
come  across  a  flowering  specimen  for  two  years,  though  there 
is  hardly  a  patch  of  woods  of  any  size  that  does  not  contain 
both  species. 

I  happened  to  be  in  a  little  grove  of  hemlocks  two  years 
ago,  in  September,  and  noticing  that  these  Orchids  were  quite 
abundant,  counted  them  roughly.  Out  of  200  plants  of  G. 
pubcsccns,  young  and  old,  only  12  had  flowered,  and  20  plants 
of  G.  repens  furnished  but  2  spikes.    A  more  careful  estimate  in 

the  following  year  resulted  in 
giving  102  flower  spikes  from 
572  plants,  young  and  old,  of 
G.  pubcsccns.  One  patch,  that 
lay  like  a  mat  on  the  ground, 
had  226  plants  in  it  and  but 
15  spikes.  G.  rcpcns  in  this 
place  is  very  scattered,  and  I 
saw  but  one  plant  and  this 
had  not  flowered.  I  have 
noticed  that  the  Goodyeras 
always  mature  their  ovaries.  In  Scotland,  G.  rcpcns  is  fertil- 
ized by  humble-bees,  and  I  suppose  they  perform  the  same 
offices  in  this  country  ;  but  it  would  seem  as  if  they  must 
drain  the  little  white  syrup  pitchers  in  a  very  bungling  way. 
"  That  arrangements  for  propagation,"  says  Sachs,  "  are  espe- 
cially promoted  by  the  upright  growth  of  the  stem  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  large  number  of  plants  which  develop 
their  leaves  in  a  rosette  close  to  the  ground,  or  on  a  stem  that 
creeps  along  it,  a  rapidly  ascending  flower-stem  is  formed  only 
just  before  the  unfolding  of  the  flower-buds.  [This  is]  strik- 
ingly the  case  in  the  case  of  parasites  (Neottia)  which  vegetate 
below  and  blossom  above." 


Fig.  39.— Flower  of  Downy  Goodyera. 

Lip,  the  other  parts  removed. 

Root  of  same. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  l27 

By  the  middle  of  September  the  nights  at  the  North  have 
become  sparkling  and  frosty.  My  favorite  spring  in  the  woods 
is  choked  with  leaves  ;  the  blue- stemmed  golden-rods  and  the 
tick-seeds  begin  to  look  a  little  discouraged,  but  it  is  still  too 
early  for  dolorous  poems  on  the  death  of  the  flowers  and  man's 
mortality.  If  I  go  in  to  the  forest  there  is  bustle  and  noise 
on  every  side  :  the  crows  are  gossiping  over  the  scandalous 
thefts  of  the  blackbirds ;  the  jays  are  making  their  usual  ado 
about  nothing ;  the  downy  woodpeckers  glide  up  the  trees  call- 
ing "  poort !  poort !  "  whatever  that  may  mean  ;  the  squirrels 
are  poking  nuts  into  the  ground  with  their  noses,  covering  each 
one  with  nervous  little  taps  of  their  paws,  and  as  they  know 
perfectly  well  I  cannot  find  their  hoards,  though  I  go  down  on 
hands  and  knees,  the  beratings  I  get  for  looking  on  are  quite 
uncalled  for.  Outside,  the  western  sloping  meadows  are  warm, 
and  sprinkled  with  not  a  few  daisies  and  dandelions;  I  even 
find  some  violets.  The  old  orchards  are  full  of  bluebirds,  come 
like  professional  singers  to  cheat  us  by  twittering  "  last  fare- 
wells ;  "  and  so,  under  the  rich  sky,  it  is  no  wonder  that  our 
most  beautiful  Ladies'  Tresses,  Spiranthes  cernna,  has  conde- 
scended to  open  her  fragrant,  cream-white  chalices :  and  leaving 
out  of  mind  5.  gracilis,  sometimes  found  in  October,  I  like  to 
think  of  it  as  ending  the  Orchid  season ;  the  only  species  that 
month  can  rightfully  call  her  own. 

5.  cernua  is  popularly  called  the  Drooping  or  Nodding-flow- 
ered  Ladies'  Tresses,  and  in  the  old  botanies,  the  Nodding-flow- 
ered  Neottia.  It  is  very  common  in  low  ground,  but  varies  so 
in  height,  and  in  the  number  and  size  of  its  flowers,  that  one 
ignorant  of  botanical  distinctions  cannot  be  blamed  for  mis- 
taking it  for  other  species.  As  to  time,  too,  though  it  is  late 
blooming  with  us,  I  have  known  it  to  come  as  early  as  August 
20th,  in  Berkshire  Co.,  Mass.  Two  characteristic  features  of 
this  species  are  that,  as  Hooker  expresses  it,  "  the  lateral  sepals 
cohere  with  the  upper  one  and  the  petals  for  nearly  their-whole 


I28  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

length  "  and  that  the  leaves  usually  wither  about  the  time  the 
plant  blossoms,  although  Gray  mentions  a  variety  that  does  re- 
tain its  leaves,  and  this  produces  "  greenish-cream  colored  flow- 
ers "  and  occurs  in  dry  ground.  I  once  examined  five  spikes  of 
5.  cernua  containing  forty-five  blossoms,  and  but  five  of  these 
had  lost  their  pollen-masses,  while  one  had  lost  its  pollen-mass 
but  retained  its  disc.  Some  plants  of  this  species,  domesti- 
cated in  England,  years  ago,  bloomed  from  August  to  the  mid- 
dle of  November,  and  were  thought  to  grow  and  make  offsets 
more  freely  than  most  species  belonging  to  the  family. 

Sweet,  in  the  British  Flower  Garden,  enumerates  a  number 
of  American  Orchids  that  were  successfully  grown  in  England 
during  the  early  part  of  the  century  (Liparis  liliifolia  was 
naturalized  as  early  as  1758),  and  is  of  the  opinion  that  all 
Orchids  might  be  raised  from  seed  by  surrounding  them  with 
"  turfs  of  grass  "  for  the  young  plants  to  attach  themselves  to 
when  the  plants  first  vegetate,  "  as  they  appear  to  be  all  more  or 
less  parasitic  in  a  young  state."  Or,  he  would  cover  the  ground 
with  moss,  scatter  the  seeds  over  it,  and  with  a  watering-pot 
wash  them  gently  in.  Species  requiring  a  clayey  soil  he  would 
plant  on  a  little  "  mount  "  made  of  chalk  covered  with  sandy 
loam  mixed  with  powdered  chalk.  Stewart  Murray,  curator 
of  the  Glasgow  Botanical  Garden,  gives  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  London,  1826,  a  list  of  26  North 
American  Orchids,  Calypso  borealis  among  them,  and  the  follow- 
ing account  of  his  treatment  of  them.  "  I  chose  a  well  shel- 
tered place,  nearly  the  lowest  in  the  garden,  facing  south,  took 
out  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  16  inches,  set  in  a  wooden  frame, 
2J^  feet  high  at  the  back,  15  inches  in  front,  with  movable 
glass  lights,  and  filled  it  to  the  ground  level  with  a  compost,  ^ 
leaf-mould,  ^  turfy  peat  full  of  roots  and  stems,  the  remaining 
third  M  sphagnum,  y2  sand,  the  whole  well  broken  and  mixed 
but  not  riddled.  Care  was  taken  to  keep  the  surface  a  little 
higher  for  those   requiring  less  moisture,  like    Cyp.    arictimim, 


Fig  40— Ladies'  Tresses. 
S.  cernua,  S.  gracilis. 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  -^j 

to  cut  away  the  old  stems  in  autumn  and  to  give  a  slight 
top-dressing  of  the  same  mixture."  The  frame  was  covered 
with  mats  in  winter  and  great  pains  taken  with  the  drain- 
age ;  excessive  moisture  in  his,  as  in  Sweet's  judgment,  doing 
more  injury  than  cold. 

Among  those  in  New  England  who  make  a  business  of  culti- 
vating our  native  Orchids  is  Mr.  Edward  Gillett  of  Southwick, 
Mass.,  who  tells  me  that  he  has  been  most  successful  with  the 
following  species  :  Cyps.  arietinum,  pubescens  and  parviftorum  ; 
Habcnarias  virescens,  Hookeri,  ftmbriata,  psycodes ;  Goodyera 
pubescens  ;  Spirant  lies  cernua  and  gracilis  ;  Aplectrum  Jiycmale. 
"  Calypso  borealis,  obtained  from  Oregon,  does  well  in  sand,  the 
wire  worms  eating  the  bulbs  badly  if  planted  in  anything  else." 
W.  L.  Foster,  of  Hanover,  Mass.,  has  succeeded  well  in  raising 
the  Cypripediums  in  a  partially  shaded  border  of  leaf  mould 
mulched  with  leaves.  "  C.  acaule,  however,  always  dies  out 
within  a  year  or  two.  I  think  it  might  do  better  if  seed  were 
sown  in  soil  similar  to  that  in  which  it  naturally  grows. 
Calypso  has  been  tried  in  various  situations,  but  I  have  never 
seen  it  after  the  second  year,  and  others  who  have  tried  to 
grow  it  have  had  the  same  experience.  A  friend  has  grown 
many  species  with  fair  success  in  a  brick  tank  filled  with 
swampy  soil,  mulched  with  sphagnum  and  kept  moist."  F.  H. 
Horsford,  Charlotte,  Vt.,  has  the  following  "hardy  "  species  on 
his  Trade  List :  Both  Orchises ;  Habenarias,  hypcrborea,  dila- 
tata,  obtusata,  Hookeri,  orbiculata,  ciliaris,  lacera,  psycodes,  fim~ 
briata  ;  the  three  Goodyeras  ;  Spiranthes,  Romanzoviana,  cernua, 
graminea  and  simplex,  Listeras,  cor  data  and  convallarioides  ;  A. 
bulbosa  ;  Pogonias,  ophioglossoides  and  verticillata  ;  C.pulchellus  ; 
Calypso  borealis;  T.  discolor;  both  species  of  Liparis ;  A. 
hyemale  and  all  the  Cypripediums. 

C.  acaule  appears  to  be  invariably  disobliging.  Mr.  R.  A.  Salis- 
bury* as  far  back  as  1812,  planted  it  in  peat  earth  mixed  with 

*  Transactions  London  Hort.  Society. 


132  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

sand  and  leaves  and  treated  it  in  various  ways ;  "  but  though  it 
started  out  well  it  always  died  the  second  or  third  year."  A 
correspondent  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  Torrey  Club  complains 
that  he  used  both  sphagnum  and  nearly  pure  sand,  with  the 
same  results.  It  is  possible  that  a  persistent  use  of  the 
Dumesnil  fertilizing- moss  might  effect  a  change  in  the  con- 
stitution of  this  plant.  One  English  florist  planted  C.calccoltis, 
"  in  narrow  fissures  in  limestone  rock,  well  drained  and  filled 
with  rich  fibrous  soil,  increasing  the  plants  by  dividing  them  at 
the  roots."  He  thought  an  " eastern,  shaded  aspect  "  best  suited 
to  them,  while  another  says,  "  Lady's  Slippers  should  be  planted 
in  loamy  soil  where  they  get  the  morning  sun  only,  and  the 
roots  should  be  removed  but  seldom,  as  transplanting  prevents 
their  flowering."  Our  C.  pubcscens  prefers  shade,  no  doubt,  but 
I  have  known  it  to  do  well  in  an  open  garden,  exposed  to  the 
full  force  of  the  sun.  Habenarias  ftmbriata  and  blepJiariglottis 
"  thrive  best  in  wet,  peaty  soil,  partly*  shaded.  H.  virescens 
and  Liparis  liliifolia  in  rather  dry,  peaty  soil."  English  florists 
have  considered  a  sandy,  red  loam  best  suited  to  OrcJiis  spec- 
tabilis,  its  size  and  beauty  being  greatly  increased  by  cultiva- 
tion, and  for  the  Goodyeras,  a  mixture  of  silver  sand  and  leaf 
mould. 

Some  members  of  the  Mass.  Hort.  Society,  *  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  1881,  discussed  the  subject  of  the  cultivation  of 
native  Orchids.  Mrs.  T.  L.  Nelson,  of  Worcester,  had  found 
Cyps.  parviflorum,  pnbescens  and  spectabile  adapted  to  gardens. 
"  The  latter  forms  its  buds  late  in  autumn  under  the  old  stalk, 
and  this  shows  that  one  could  be  grown  as  well  as  another." 
Mrs.  C.  N.  S.  Horner,  of  Georgetown,  had  succeeded  in  winter 
with  C.pubesccns  and  the  Goodyeras.  Mr.  E.  H.  Hitching  had 
transplanted  successfully,  Orchis  spectabilis  and  C.  spectabile, 
and    remarked  that   Liparis  liliifolia,  "  one  of  our  most   deli- 

*  Annual  Report,  i83i. 


THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW   ENGLAND.  jg* 

cate  Orchids  has  been  cultivated  for  years  in  the  house  and 
blooms  every  year."  Dr.  Walcot  had  raised  Habenarias  ciliaris 
and  blepliariglottis,  also  Calypso  borealis.  Mr.  Falconer,  of  the 
Cambridge  Botanic  Garden,  thought  C.  spcctabile  almost  the 
only  wild  flower  very  amenable  to  winter  forcing.  "  Some 
Orchids,  like  Calypso,  though  very  pretty  are  not  generally 
satisfactory  as  out-door  plants,  but  are  better  for  pot  culture." 

I  have  tried  my  own  hand  in  a  partially  shaded  corner  of  a 
stone  wall,  adding  to  the  leaf  mould  already  collected  there,  a 
mixture  of  swamp  muck  and  sphagnum.  All  the  Cypripe- 
diums  but  acaule  have  taken  kindly  to  their  new  home,  and  so 
have  Orchis  spcctabilis,  Habenarias  Hooker  i,  viridis  and  psy codes, 
Calopogon  piilchellus,  Liparis  Loeselii,  the  Goodyeras,  and  Aplec- 
trum  hyemale.  Calypso  bloomed  finely  this  spring  (1883),  but 
some  insect,  that  must  have  had  purely  malicious  intentions, 
gnawed  off  the  blossoms  and  left  them  lying  on  the  ground. 
Pogonia  pendula  met  with  the  same  fate.  There  are  at  least 
thirty  species  in  the  bed,  and  that  those  unnamed  are  not  do- 
ing well  is  due  solely,  I  think,  to  a  lack  of  sufficient  moisture. 

The  appended  List  of  Stations,  though  incomplete  (bota- 
nists appear  to  be  "  rare  "  in  New  Hampshire,  and  eastern  Con- 
necticut), is  reliable  as  far  as  it  goes.  I  have  been  aided  in 
compiling  it  by  none  but  accurate  observers,  and  out  of  a  large 
number  of  stations  have  selected  enough  to  be  of  use  to  collect- 
ors and  to  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  distribution  of  each  species 
through  New  England,  though  my  pleasure  in  printing  it  is 
considerably  lessened  by  the  fear  that  I  may  be  sounding  the 
death-knell  of  some  of  the  rarer  kinds,  Grant  Allen  says  that 
the  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper  in  England  now  lingers  but  in  two 
places;  one  of  these,  "  a  single  estate  in  Durham,  where  it  is  as 
carefully  preserved  by  the  owner  as  if  it  were  pheasants  or 
fallow-deer,"  and  in  New  England  so  many  wild  flowers  are,  as 
Higginson  pathetically  puts  it,  "  chased  into  the  recesses  of  the 
Green   Mountains,"  that   I   predict  the  formation,  before-many 


!34  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

years,  of  a  society  for  their  protection.  Unhappily,  it  is  not 
always  the  ignorant  pleasure-seeker  who  offends  ;  one  can  for- 
give him  when  he  tramples  underfoot  the  flower  that  has 
served  to  amuse  him  for  the  passing  moment,  but  when  it 
comes  to  a  professed  botanist,  who  with  selfish  motives  uproots 
right  and  left  and  blots  out  name  after  name  in  the  Flora  of  a 
locality,  it  should  be  his  lot  to  be  branded  with  a  longer  and 
more  unflattering  adjective  than  any  he  has  written  under  the 
crumbling,  graceless  specimens  in  his  herbarium.  The  axe  and 
the  drain-tile,  too,  will  have  their  own  way,  and  when  we  can 
no  longer  defend  our  favorites  from  the  despoiler  or  remove 
them  to  some  equally  congenial  swamp  or  forest,  we  can  as  a 
last  resort  give  them,  in  our  own  gardens,  the  protection  of 
fences,  watch  dogs,  and  city  laws. 


CALYPSO. 

The  sun-lit  copse  is  passed,  the  shadows  thicken, 

With  bated  breath  I  press 
Along  the  narrow  path,  now  lost,  now  sighted, 

That  threads  the  wilderness. 

Lest  jealous  bee  or  tattling  wind  give  warning, 

And  from  her  dewy  glade 
The  timid  deity  take  flight  to  regions 

No  mortal  can  invade. 

Not  here  nor  there  my  wearied  eyes  behold  her, 
(Dimmed  by  her  spells,  perchance), 

The  fir-trees  glower  and  the  cedars  brandish 
Their  arms  at  my  advance. 

Is  this  her  shrine,  where  jeweled  cobwebs  tremble, 

Silk  curtains,  rudely  rent 
As  at  my  step  profane  the  goddess  hastened  ? 

(These  tender  ferns  are  bent). 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

Here  the  Linnceas  swing  their  perfumed  censers. 

And  Tiarellas  pale 
And  pure  as  vestal  virgins  throng  the  spaces 

In  this  hushed,  peaceful  vale. 

Ah  no!  to  deeper  glooms  the  woodthrush  calls  me 

To  urge  my  glad  pursuit ; 
Her  laureate,  who  melodiously  flatters 

On  his  rich  silver  flute. 

See  !  where  that  thoughtless  wind  the  leaves  is  lifting, 

Above  her  mossy  bed 
On  lightest  tiptoe  poised  Calypso  hovers, 

Her  rosy  wings  outspread. 

Thrice  happy  I,  to  gaze  at  last  upon  her  ! 

But  shall  I  venture  near? 
How  frame  my  speech,  or  what  petition  offer 

That  she  will  deign  to  hear? 

I  haste  ;  I  kneel  ;  for  joy  I  cannot  utter 

One  stammered  word  of  praise  ; 
She  nods  her  graceful  head  ;  to  wait  my  pleasure 

The  goddess  fair  delays. 


*35 


136 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


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THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


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THE    ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


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Princeton,         Canton, 
Littleton,          Stoneham. 
Concord. 
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Gardner,          Amesbury, 
Littleton,         Medford. 
Northboro,      Cambridge, 
Concord,          Newton, 
Andover,         Hanover, 
Gloucester,      S.  Dennis, 
Rockport,        Harwich, 
Seekonk.          N.  Bedford. 

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Northampton  Rockport, 
Sheffield,          Medford, 
Southwick,      Lawrence, 
Amherst,          Canton, 
L'gmeadow,    N.  Bedford. 
Fitchburg, 
Concord. 

W'mstown,     Rockport, 
Sheffield,          Andover, 
N'ampton,       Lawrence, 
S'ampton.        Methuen, 
Springfield,     Maiden, 
Amherst,          Newton, 
Concord,          Hanover. 
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Franconia,      Conway, 
Warren,           N.  Sandw'h 
Hanover,         Thornton, 
Keene,              Plymouth, 
Chesterfield.   Amherst, 
Salem, 
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New  Sharon, 

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Manchester, 

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Monson,           Rockland, 
Harmony,        Ellsworth, 
Andover,          E.  Machias, 
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Brunswick, 
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Methuen,             Hanover, 
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Mt.  Tobey,        Wellesley, 
Springfield,       Kingston, 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY.* 

Publications  containing  references  to,  or  descriptions  of  Orchids  found  in 

New  England. 


SIMPLE    LISTS. 

The  Portland  Catalogue  of  Maine  Plants. 

Pub.  by  Port.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.     Pamph.     Portland,  1868. 
Plants  found  in  New  Hampshire  only  on  Alpine  summits. 

Geology,  N.  Hampshire,  Vol.  I.   Concord,  1874.     Prof.  J.  W.  Chickering. 
List  of  Plants  collected  in  Salem,  Mass.  and  its  vicinity. 

Proc.  Essex  Inst.  Vol.  III.     Salem,  1S60. 
Catalogue  Plants  growing  without   cultivation  .within   five  miles  of  Yale  College. 
William  Tully,  M.D. 

From  Appendix,  Baldwin's  Hist.  Yale  College.  Pamph.     N.  Haven,  1S31. 

LOCAL    FLORAS   AND    LISTS   WITH    OCCASIONAL 

STATIONS. 

Catalogue  of  the  Flowering  Plants  of  Maine.     Geo.  L.  Goodale. 

Proc.  Portland  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.  Vol.  I.     Portland,  1862. 
The  Flora  of  Franconia  in  Springtime.     W.  C.  Prime. 

Lonesome  Lake  Papers,  N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce,  June,  1882. 
Flora  of  Hanover,  N.  H.  and  vicinity.     Prof.  H.  G.  Jessup. 

Pamph.  —  1881  ? 
Catalogue  of  Vermont  Plants.     Wm.  Oakes,  Joseph  Torrey. 

Thompson's  Nat.  Hist.  Vt.      Burlington,  1 843-1 S53. 
Catalogue  of  Vermont  Plants.     G.  H.   Perkins,  C.  C.  Frost. 

In  Archives  of  Science,  Vol.  I.      Mclndoes  Falls,  1872. 
Catalogue  Plants  of  Middlebury,  Vt.      Edwin  James. 

Hall's  Statist.  Acct.  Town  Middlebury.      Middlebury,  1821. 
General  Catalogue  of  the  Flora  of  Vermont.     G.  H.  Perkins,  Ph.  D. 

Pamph.     Montpelier,  1882. 

*  The  reader  will  find  in  Pritzel's  "  Iconum  Botanicorum  Index."   a  book  found  in  any 
large  library,  a  very  full  list  of  works  containing-  plates  of  Orchids  described  in  this  monograph. 


1 48  THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

Catalogue  of  Plants  growing  without  cultivation  in  State  of  Mass.     Edward  Hitch- 
cock. 

Report  on  Geol.,  etc.,  of  Mass.     Amherst,  1833. 
Catalogue  of  Berkshire  Co.  Plants.     Chester  Dewey. 

Catalogue  of  Plants  growing  without  cultivation  in  the  vicinity  of  Amherst  College, 
Edward  Hitchcock. 

Pamph.     Amherst,  1S29. 
Catalogue  of  Plants  growing  without  cultivation  within  thirty  miles  of  Amherst 
College.     E.  Hitchcock,  C.  C.  Frost. 

Amherst,  1875. 
Florula  Bostoniensis.     Plants  of  Boston  and  vicinity.     Jacob  Bigelow,  M.  D. 

Boston,  1814.     New  Editions,  1824,  1S40. 
List  of  the  Plants  of  Maiden  and  Medford. 

Pamph.      Maiden,  Mass.,  The  Middlesex  Institute,  1881. 
Flora  of  Essex  Co.,  Mass.     John  Robinson. 

Published  by  Essex  Inst.      Salem,  1881. 
Flora  of  Lynn.     Cyrus  M.  Tracey. 

Lynn,  1856. 
Trees  and  Flowers  of  Cape  Ann  and  of  Pigeon  Cove  and  vie.     C.  W.  Pool,  H.  C. 
Leonard. 

Boston,  1873. 
Flora  of  Georgetown.     Mrs.  C.  N.  S.  Horner. 

Georgetown  Advocate.     Feb.  and  March,  1876. 
Catalogue  of  Plants  of  New  Bedford  and  vicinity.     E.  W.  Hervey. 

Pamph.      i860. 
Flora  of  Worcester  Co.,  Mass.     Prof.  Wm.  Jackson.     —  1884. 
List  of  Plants  of  Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  vicinity.     Jno.  P.  Brace. 

Silliman's  Journal,  Vol.  iy.   I.  Series,  1822. 
Catalogue  of  Flowering  Plants  growing  without  cultivation  within  thirty  miles  of 
Yale  College. 

Published  by  the  Berzelius  Society.      Pamph.     New  Haven,  187S. 
A  Catalogue  of   Wild  Plants  growing  in  Norwich  and  vicinity.     G.  R.  Case,  Wm. 
A.  Setchell. 

Pamph.    Norwich,  Ct.,  1883. 

DESCRIPTIVE  ARTICLES. 

Remarks  on  Habenarias  orbiculata,  dilatata,  and  Hookeri. 

Annals  N.  Y.  Lyceum,  Nat.  Hist.     Vol.  III.  1828-36. 
Remarks,  chiefly  on  the  synonomy  of  several  N.  A.  Plants  of  the  Orchis  tribe.     Asa 
Gray. 

Am.  Journal  Science,  Vol.  38.  I  series. 


THE   ORCHIDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  iaq 

Statistics  Flora  of  the  Northern  United  States.     Asa  Gray. 

Am.  Journal  Science,  Vol.  23,  1857. 
Review  of   Darwin's  Fertilization  of  Orchids  through  the  Agency  of  Insects.     Asa 
Gray. 

Am.  Journal  Science,  II.  Series,  Vol.  34,  Nov.  1862. 
The  Orchids  of  America. 

Phila.  Times,  Nov.  (7  ?),  1882. 
Notes  on  the  Flora  of  Vermont.     Geo.  H.  Perkins,  Ph.  D. 

Burlington  Free  Press,  1883. 
Native  Plants  adapted  for  Winter  Culture.     Mrs.  T.  L.  Nelson. 

Transact,  Mass.  Hort.  Soc,  June,  18S2. 
Herbaceous  Plants  of  Mass.     Chester  Dewey. 

Zoolog.  and  Bot.  Survey  Mass.,  Boston,  1839. 
Beautiful  Plants  Growing  Wild  in  the  Vicinity  of  Boston.     E.  B.  Kenrick. 

Gardener's    Mag.,  Vol.  I.,  Boston,  1835-6. 
On  Pogonia  ophioglossoides.     J.  H.  Scudder. 

Proceedings  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol  9,  April,  1863. 
Remarks  on  Cypripedium.  j 

Remarks    on    Habs.  virescens  and    >- Asa  Gray.    Amer  Jour.,  Vol.  36,  Sept.,  1863. 
tridentata.  J 

Notes  on  Cyp.  spectabile.   ]  Vol.  15,  Nov.,  1881. 

Um.  Naturalist.          "      Oct. 
"         Arethusa.  J  Vol.  12,  July,  1877. 


BOOKS  AND  ARTICLES  WITH  DESCRIPTIONS  AND 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Botanique  Nova  Genera.     A.  Von  Humboldt. 

Paris,  1 815 
British  Flower  Garden.     Robert  Sweet. 

1st  and  2nd  series,  London,  1823-31. 
Flora  North  America.     W.  P.  C.  Barton,  M.D. 

Philadelphia,  1821. 
Flora  Boreali  Americana.     Sir  W.  J.  Hooker. 

London,  1840 
Flore  des  Serres.     Louis  Van  Houtte. 

Ghent,  1854-5. 
Illustrations  of  Orchidaceous  Plants.     Thos.  Moore. 

London,  1857. 


jcq  THE    ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

Native  Flowers  and  Ferns  of  the  United  States.     Thos.  Meehan. 

I.  series,   Boston,  1879  ;    II.  series,  Phila.,  1880. 
Wild  Flowers  of  America.     G.  L.  Goodale  and  I.  Sprague. 

Boston,  1S80. 
Among  our  Footprints.     W.  Hamilton  Gibson. 

Harper's  Magazine,  Dec,  1881. 
Beautiful  Wild  Flowers.     A.  B.  Hervey  &  I.  Sprague. 

Boston,  1881. 
Wild  Flowers  and  Where  they  Grow.     Misses  Harris  &  Humphrey. 

Boston,  1882. 
Flowers  of  the  Field  and  Forest.     A.  B.  Hervey  &  I.  Sprague. 

Boston,  1S82. 
Field,  WTood  and  Meadow  Rambles.     Amanda  Harris  &  Geo.  F.  Barnes. 

Boston,  1882. 

ADDRESSES. 

Italicized  names  are  those  of  botanists  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  Orchids  of  the  State 
outside  of  their  respective  localities.    Specialists  are  indicated  by  a  capital  S. 

MAINE. 

Miss  Kate  Furbish,  Brunswick. 

Osgoode  Fuller,  Camden. 

F.  S.  Bunker,  Cambridge. 

Prof.  F.  Lamson  Scribner,  (Girard  College,  Phila.,  Pa). 

Miss  Laura  Watson,  Sedgewick,  Hancock  Co. 

Miss  Helen  G.  Atkins,  Bucksport. 

Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Purington,  Auburn. 

C.  C.  Rounds,  Farmington. 

Miss  J.  Hills,  Rockland. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Prof.   William  F.  Flint,   Winchester. 
Rev.  Joseph  Blake,  Gilmanton. 
Mrs.  D.  VV.  Gilbert,  Keene. 
Prof.  H.  G.  Jessup,  Hanover. 

VERMONT. 

Prof.  George  H.  Perkins,  Burlington. 
Frederick  H.  Horsford,  Charlotte.      S. 


THE   ORCHIDS   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  jci 

Ferdinand  Blanchard,  M.D.,  Peacham. 
H.  A.  Cutting,  M.D.,  Lunenburgh. 
Prof.  Ezra  Brai/ierd,  Middlebury. 
Lucius  Bigelow,  Rutland. 
Rev.  Herbert  M.  Denslow,  Rutland.     S. 
Mrs.  Ann  E.  Brown,  Brattleboro. 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Edward  Tucker  man,  LL.D.,  Amherst. 
Edward  Gillett,  Southwick.      S. 
C.  B.  Nims,  M.D.,  Northampton. 
George  A.  Davenport,  8  Hamilton  Place,  Boston. 
Mrs.  Annie  S.  Downs,  Andover. 
Frederick  H.  Hedge,  Public  Library,  Lawrence. 
Frank  S.  Lufkin,  Pigeon  Cove. 
Mrs.  C.  N.  S.  Horner,  Georgetown. 
E.  Adams  Hartwell,  Fitchburg. 
Miss  Jane  Hosmer,  Concord. 
Warren  H.  Manning,  Reading.      S. 
Frank  S.  Collins,  Box  55,  Maiden. 
Charles  E.  Faxon,  Jamaica  Plains. 
W.  L.  Foster,  Hanover. 
George  H.  Martin,  Bridge  water. 
Charles  E.  Ridler,  Kingston. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

Arnold  Green,  Providence. 
Prof.   W.    W.  Bailey,  Providence. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Prof.  Daniel  C.  Eaton,  New  Haven. 
James  N.  Bishop,  Plainville. 
Frederick  Deming,  M.D.,  Litchfield. 
Miss  M.  Janette  Elmore,  Burnside. 
Miss  Jane  G.  Fuller,  Scotland. 
Col.  G.  R.  Case,  Norwich. 
Isaac  H olden,  Bridgeport. 
Oscar  Harger,  Peabody  Museum,  New  Haven. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Acontia  luctuosa,  with  pollen-masses,  23. 
Adam  and  Eve,  see  Aplectrum  hyemale. 
Adder's-mouth,  see  Microstylis. 

"  Microstylis,     see    Microstylis 

oph  ioglossoides. 
Pogonia,  see  P.  ophioglossoides. 
Adder's  Violet,  see  Goodyera. 
Allen,  Grant,  forms  of  leaves,  28  ;  //.  viridis, 
4S;Z..  L&selii,  65;  S.Roinanzoviana, 
105;  Yellow  Lady's  Slipper,  133. 
Angrcectim  sesquipedale,  Darwin's  account  of, 

25- 

Anther,  explanation  of  term,  7. 

Aplectrum,  Nuttall,  74. 

Aplectrum  hyemale ,  Nuttall,  74;  illustration,  71. 

Arethusa,  Linnaeus,  54. 

Arethitsa  bulbosa,  Linnaeus,  53;  peculiar  forms, 

54  ;   fertilization,   55  ;  illustrations, 

5i>  54- 
Arethuseae,  peculiar  forms,  57. 
Auricles  or  crests,  rudimentary,  116. 

Bailey,  Prof.  W.  W.,  poem,  Calypso,  53. 

Barton, W.  P.  C,  C.acaule,?.q\L.cordata,<£,\A. 
hyemale,  74;  P.  op h ioglossoides,  85. 

Bastin,  Prof.  E.  S.,  C.  spectabile,  curious  form 
of,  76. 

Bees,  fertilizers  of  Orchids  with  short  nectaries, 
24;  fertilizers  of  C.  pitbescens,  35,  36  ; 
A  ndrena  parznila,  35  ;  Halicta,  36  ; 
Augochlora,  36 ;  fertilizers  of  spe- 
cies of  Platanthera,  39 ;  attracted 
by  certain  colors,  45,  46;  possessed 
of  poor  sight,  46  ;  fertilizers  of  A. 
bulbosa,  55  ;  of  Listera,  64  ;  of  H. 
orbiculata,  102  ;  of  Spiranthes,  109  ; 
with  attached  pollen-masses,  nij 
112;  fertilizers  of  G.  repens,  120,  126. 

Beetles,  pollen-devouring,  23  ;  in  labellum  of 
C.pubescens,  36;  avoiders  of  certain 
colors,  63 ;  grammoptera  Icevis  with 
attached  pollen-masses, illustration, 
59  ;  fertilizers  of  C.  spectabile,  j3. 

Bentham,  Dr.  George,  on  Cypripedium,  26 ;  S. 
Romanzoviana,  106. 

Bracted  Green  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  viridis, 
var.  bracteata. 

Britton,  Dr.  N.  L.,  on  root  of  S.  gracilis,  106. 

Broad-leaved  Spiranthes,  see  S.  lati/olia. 


Broad -leaved  Ladies1  Tresses,  same  as  above. 

Butterflies,  fertilizers  of  Orchids  with  long  nec- 
taries, 24  ;  of  II.  Hookeri,  41 ;  at- 
tracted by  certain  colors,  46. 

Burroughs,  John,  on  Cypripedium,  3G,  38;  Are- 
thusa, 54;  Calopogon,  85. 

Calopogon,  R.  Brown,  80. 

Calopogon  pulchellus,  R.  Brown,  79-34  ;  fertili- 
zation, 84;  illustrations,  80,  81. 

Calypso,  Salisbury,  49. 

Calypso  borealis,  Salisbury,  46-53  ;  related  to 
Liparis  and  Microstylis,  49;  poems, 
53,  134;  illustration,  47. 

Camel's-foot,  see  Cyp-  acaule. 

Caudicles  of  pollinia,  explanation  of  term,  21 ; 
description  of  their  contraction  in 
O.  spectabilis,  22  ;  rudimentary  in 
Goodyera,  123. 

Changes  effected  by  insects,  63. 

Characteristics  of  Orchids,  6-9. 

Clinandrum  or  membranous  cup,  in  P.  ophio- 
glossoides,  86;  in  Spiranthes,  108;  in 
Malaxis,  115,  116;  in  Goodyera,  119, 
120. 
'  Colors  of  Flowers,  Grant  Allen  on,  45;  attract- 
ive to  insects,  45;  to  beetles,  63. 

Column,  explanation  of  term,  7. 

Corallorhiza,  Haller,  73;  illustration,  73. 

Corallorhiza  innata,  R.  Brown,  73. 

"  multi/lora,  Nuttall,  89  ;  illustra- 

tion., 71. 
"  odontorhiza,  Nuttall,  73. 

"  verna,  Nuttall,  see  C.  innata. 

"  Wistariana,  Conrad,  see  C.  odont- 

orhiza. 

Coral-root,  see  Corallorhiza. 

Coral-tooth,  "  " 

Cranefly  Orchis,  see  Tipularia. 

Creeping  Goodyera,  see  Goodyera  repens. 

Crest,  medial,  or  process,  in  Ophrys,  41  ;  Her- 
minium  jnonorchis,  42. 

Cultivation  of  Orchids,  128-133. 

Cypripedium,  Linnaeus,  27;  distinguished  from 
other  genera,  26,  37  ;  fertilization, 
28;  translucent  spots  on  labelium, 
36;  comparative  abundance  of  spe- 
cies, 38;  illustration,  27* 


154 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Cypripedium  acaule,  Aiton,  popular  names,  26; 
fertilization,  28;  structure,  28,  29, 
37  •  peculiar  forma,  29  ;  habitat, 
30  ;  poem,  30  ;  illustration,  33. 

"  album,  75. 

"  arietinum,  R.  Brown,  37, 145  ;  illus- 

tration, 33. 
calceolus,  32,  35  ;  illustration   (from 
Miiller),  27. 

"  parviflorum,  Salisbury,  36.  38;  illus- 
trations, 27.  33. 

"  pubescens,  Willdcnow. 31-37;  habitat, 
32;  fertilization^,  36;  peculiarity 
of  sepals,  37. 

"  spectabile,  Swartz.  75;  curious  speci- 

men of,  -6  ;  fertilized  by  beetles, 
78;  illustrations,  frontispiece,  27. 

Darwin,  Charles,  on  the  structure  of  Orchids. 
6-8  :  on  the  study  of  Orchids,  10  ; 
on  0. mascula, 21;  Acontia  luctuosa, 
illustration,  23  ;  on  nectaries,  24  ; 
on  A  ngrcecum  sesquipedale,  25  ;  fer- 
tilization of  C.  calceolus,  and  C 
pubescens.  35  ;  fertility  of  Orchids, 
38;  fertilization  of  H.  chlorantha, 41, 
42;  of  P.  viridis.  44;  on  Arethusese, 
57;  fertilization  of  L.  ovata,  5S-60; 
changes  in  position  of  labellum.  83; 
structure  and  fertilization  of  S. 
autumnalis,  106-110;  auricles  in 
Ophrys,  115  ;  fertilization  of  Good- 
yera,  1 18-123  ;  gradation  of  organs, 
120;  illustrations,  7,  20,  23,  41,  44, 
102,  107. 

Degeneracy  of  species,  Grant  Allen  on,  43,  65. 

Dendrobiuni  chrysanthum,  88. 

Depression  of  pollinia.  in  O.  spectablis,  22  ;  H. 
Hookeri,  43;  H.  viridis,  var.,  44; 
H.  fimbriata.  97  ;  //.  tridentata, 
98  ;  II.  orbiculata,  105;  II.  psycodes, 
111 ;  II.  ciliaris.  114. 

Dewey,  Chester,  on  H.  dilatata,  66  ;  G.  pubes- 
cens, 124. 

Diptera.  46. 

Disc,  viscid,  explanation  of  term,  21. 

Downy  Goodyera,  sec  Goody  era  pubescens. 

Dcwny  Lady's  Slipper,  see  Cyp.  pubescens. 

Dragon-claw,  see  Corallorkiza  odontorhiza. 

Drooping-flowcrcd   Ladics'-Tresscs,   see   Spi- 
rant hes  ccr7iua. 
11         Ncottia,  same  as  above. 

Drum-like  pedicel  of  //.  Hookeri,  42  ;  of  H. 
fimbriata,  97  ;    H.  orbiculata,   102. 

Dwarf  Orchis,  see  Habeneria  rotundi/olia. 


Early  Coral  root,  see  Corallorkiza  innata. 
Epipactis  convallarioides,  see  Listera  convall. 
lati folia,  116. 
"  palustris,  116. 


Feather-leaved  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  ble- 
phariglottis. 

Fertilization,  O.  spectabilis,  21  ;  Cypripedium, 
28  ;  pubescens,  35  ;  Platanthera,  39  ; 
II.  viridis,  vox.  bracteata,  44;  A. 
bulbosa,  55;  L.  ovata,  58;  Z..  La?selii, 
65;  II.  dilatata.  60;  //.  hyperbcrea, 
70  ;  C.  spectabile,  78  ;  Calopogon  pul- 
chellus,  84  ;  P.  opli  ioglossoides.  £6 ; 
H.  fimbriata,  97  ;  H.  tridentata, 
98;  II.  virescens.  101;  H.  orbiculata, 
102  ;  S.  gracilis  and  S.  cer-nua,  107  ; 
//.  lacera.  no  ;  II. psycodes.  in  ;  H. 
ciliaris  and  //.  blephariglottis,  114, 
G.  rcpens,  119. 

Fertility  of  Orchids.  38. 

Flaming  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  psycodes. 

Flies  in  labellum  of  C.  pubescens,  36. 

Fringed  Orchises  93. 

Furbish,  Miss,  on  C.  acajde,  29;  C.  spectabile, 
76  ;  G.  Menziesii,  125. 


Goodale,  Elaine,  poem,  30. 

"  Prof.  Geo.  C,  on  C.  acaule,  28;  Are- 

thusa,  54  ;   Calopogon  pulchellus, 
84. 
Goodyera,  R.  Drown,  118-123. 

"  Creeping,  sec  G.  repens. 

"  Downy,  see  G.  pubescens. 

"  Menziesii,  Lindley,  124. 

"  pubescens,    R.   Brown,    124-126  ;   il- 

lustrations, 121,  126. 
"  repens,  R.  Brown,  1 18-126;  illustra- 

"  tion,  121. 

Gradation  of  Organs,  Darwin  on,  120. 
Grammoptera  losvis,  with  attached  pollen- 
masses,  illustration,  53. 
Grass-Pink,  see  Calopogon  pulchellus. 
Grassy  Spiranthes,  see  ^".  graminea. 
Gray,  Prof.  Asa,  on  structure  of  flower  of  an 
Orchid,  6,  7  ;  Synopsis  of  Orchis 
Family,  n-16;  on  fertilization  of 
O.  mascula,  21  ;  of  Cypripedium, 
2S  ;  habitat  of  C.  acaule,  30  ;  Pla- 
tanthera, 39,  40  ;  on  fertilization  of 
H.  viridis,  var.  bracteata,  44;  of 
A .  bulbosa,  55  ;  color  of  P.  verticil- 
lata,  56  ;  on  structure  and  fertiliza- 
tion of  //.  dilatata,  69;  of  //.  hyper- 
borca,  70;  on  fertilization  of  H. 
fimbriata,  97  ;  of  II  tridentata, 
97  ;  of  //.  virescens.  98  ;  of  H.  orbi- 
culata, 102  ;  on  6\  Ronianzoviana, 
105  ;  fertilization  of  //.  lacera,  no  ; 
oi  II.  psycodes,  in  ;  of  //.  ciliaris, 
114;  of  77.  blephariglottis,  114;  on 
fertilization  of  G.  repens,  119;  il- 
lustrations, 54,  102. 
Green  Orchis,  Bractcd,  see  Habenaria  viridis, 
var.  bracteata. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


155 


Green  Orchis,  Northern,  see  Habenaria  hyper- 

borea. 
Greenish  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  lacera. 
Gymnadenia,  R.  Erown,  39. 

"  tridentata,  Lindley,  see  Habena- 

ria tridentata. 

Habenaria,  Willdenow,   40;  number  in   New 

England,  40;  botanical  divisions,  57. 

Habenaria    blephariglottis,    Hooker,    113-115  ; 

var.  holopctata,  114. 

"  ciliaris,  R.  Brown,  113-116  ;  note, 

90;  illustrations,  114,  116. 
"  chlorantha,  41  ;  illustration,  41. 

"  dilatata,  Gray,  66-70  ;  illustration, 

67. 
"  dilatata,  Hooker  (Ex.  Flora),  see 

H.  hyperborea. 
"  Jimbriata,  R.  Brown,  93-97  ;  curi- 

ous form,  93  ;  illustration,  95. 
"  flava,  Gray,  see  H.  virescens. 

"  herbiola,  R.  Brown,  same  as  above. 

"  Hookeri,  Torrey,  40-43, 145  ;  var.  ob- 

longifolia,  J.  A.   Paine,  41  ;  illus- 
trations, 18,  41. 
44  hyperborea,  R.  Brown,  69. 

"  lacera,     R.   Brown,    no;    illustra- 

tion, 116. 
u  macrophylla,  Hooker,  see  H.  orbi- 

cuLita. 
*'  obtusata,  Richardson,  79  ;  illustra- 

tion, 73. 
*'  orbiculata,   Hooker,   see  H.  Hook- 

eri. 
"  orbiculata,   Torrey,    101  ;   illustra- 

tions, 99, 102. 
4i  psycodes,   Gray,   110-113  •    illustra- 

tion, 99. 
*'  rotundifolia,  Richardson,  see  Or- 

chis rotitndifolia. 
tridentata,  Hooker,   97 ;    illustra- 
tion, 67. 
virescens,   Sprengel,    98-101 ;  illus- 
tration, 98. 
"  viridis,  R,  Brown,  var.    bract  eat  a, 

Reichenbach,  43-45,  145  ;  illustra- 
tions, 43,  44. 
Habenaria,   Bracted    Green,  see      Habenaria 
viridis  var. 
"  Hooker's,  see  H.  Hookeri. 

"  Tattered-fringed,  see  H.  lacera. 

"  Torn-flowered,  see  H.  lacera. 

Heal-all,  see  Habenaria  orbiculata. 
Heart -leaved  Listera,  see  L.  cordata. 
Herminium  monorchis,  crest  in,  42. 
Hcrvey,  Rev.  A.  B.,  on  Calopogon  pulchellus, 

84. 
Higginson,  T.  W.,   on    C.   acaule,    29 ;  C.  pu- 
bescens,   32 ;  on  extinction   of  spe- 
cies, 133. 
Hooker,  Sir  J.  D.,  on  root  of  C.  pubescens,  36. 


Hooker,  Sir  William,  on  A.  bulbosa,  54;  H. 
dilatata,  63;  C.  innata,  73;  //.  ob- 
tusata, 79  ;  S.  cernua,  127. 

Hymenoptera,  46,  102. 

Indian  Moccasin,  see  C.  acaule. 

Insects,  dependence  of  Orchids  on  them  and 
vice  versa,  9,  24  ;  development  of 
proboscis,  25 ;  boring  into  necta- 
ries, 40  ;  attracted  by  smell,  46  ;  by 
colors,  46;  partial  to  L.  oz<ata,  60; 
structural  adaptation,  63 ;  natural 
selection,  63;  night-flying,  102;  on 
H.  psycodes,  112. 

Labellum  (or  shoe-shaped  lip),  explanation  of 
term,  6  ;  development  of,  8  ;  struct- 
ure in  Cyp.  acaule,  28 ;  Cyp.  pu- 
bescens, 32,  35,  35 ;  C.  arietinum, 
37  ;  Calypso,  49  ;  C.  speciabile,  75  ; 
illustrations,  27. 
Lady's  Slipper,  see  Cypripedium. 
"  Downy,  see  C.  pubescens. 

"  Pink,  see  C.  acaule. 

"  Ram's-head,  see  C.  arietinum. 

"  Showy,  see  C.  spectabile. 

*k  Stemless,  see  C.  acaule. 

".  Yellow,  see   C.  pubescens    and   C. 

parviflorum. 
Ladies'  Tresses,  seeSpiranthes. 

"  Broad-leaved,  see  S.  lati/olia. 

Grassy,  see  S.  graminea. 
"  Nodding,  see  S.  cernua. 

"  Simple,  see  S.  simplex. 

"  Slender,  see  S.  gracilis. 

Large  Coral-root,    see     Corallorhiza     multi- 
flora. 
Large    round-leaved   Orchis,    see  Habenaria 

orbiculata. 
Leaves,  Grant  Allen's  theory,  28;  of  C.  pubes- 
cens, 34  ;  growth  of  in  C.  pulchel- 
lus, 80;  in  Pogonia,  117. 
Lepidoptera,  42,  46,  101,  102. 
Lily-leaved  Liparis,  see  L.  liliifolia. 
Lii7todorum   pr&cox,   Walter,    see   5.  grami- 
nea. 
Lip,  or  labellum,  6. 
Liparis,  Richard,  49,  64. 

Liparis  liliifolia,  Richard,  65  ;  illustration,  65. 
"  Lceselii,  Richard.  64,   65  ;  illustra- 

tions, 61,  64. 
"  pendula,  115. 

Listera,  R.  Brown,  58. 

Listera  convallarioides,   Hooker,  64  ;  illustra- 
tions. 61,  64. 
"  cordata,  R.    Brown,   58  ;  illustra- 

tion, 61. 
"  ovata,    R.   Brown,   58-60;  illustra- 

tion, 59. 
Listera,  Heart-leaved,  see  L.  cordata. 

"  Long-lipped,  same  as  above. 

Long  leaved  Malaxis,  see  Liparis  Laeselii. 


56 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Malaxis  correana,    Barton,   see  Liparis  Lce- 
sclii. 
"  liliifolia,  Swartz,  see  Liparis  lilii- 

folia. 
"  longifolia,  see  Liparis  Lceselii. 

"  paludosa,  65,  115. 

Meehan,  Prof.  Thomas,  on  root  of   O.  specta- 
bilis,   26 ;  on    Cyp.   acaule.,   30 ;  C. 
pubescens,    32  ;    C.    arieti'.utm,    37  ; 
Calypso,  49  ;  Spiranthes,  66  ;  range 
of  S.  cernua  and  .S".  gracilis,  66  ;  on 
C.pulchellus,  80;  .P.  ophioglossoides, 
85  ;  H.funbriata,  94  ;  Pogonia,  117. 
Microstylis,  Nuttall,  49,  89. 
Microstylis  vionophyllos,  Lindley,  89  ;  illustra- 
tion. 89. 
"  ophioglossoides,   Nuttall,   89  ;  illus- 

tration, 89. 
Microstylis,  Adder's-mouth,  see  M.  ophioglos- 
soides. 
"  One-leaved,  see  M.  monophylloi,. 

occasin-flower,  see  Cypripedium. 
Moths,  in  Madagascar,  25  ;  fertilizers  of  Pla- 
tanthera,  39  ;  of  H.  Hooker  i,  41  ; 
attracted  by  colors,  46  ;  fertilizers 
of  //.  psy codes,  in  ;  illustrations, 
23,  102. 
Movements  of  pollinia,  see  depression  of  pol- 

linia. 
M  tiller,  Hermann,  on  characters  of  Orchis  fam- 
ily, 9;  concealment  of  pollen,  23  ; 
concealment  of  honey,  24 ;  label- 
lum  of  C.  calceolus,  illustration,  27  ; 
on  fertilization  of  C.  pubescens,  35  ; 
fertility  of  an  Orchid,  38  ;  colors  of 
flowers,  45,  63 ;  Listera,  60,  63 ; 
humble-bees  and  pollen-masses, 
112  ;   illustrations,  27,  57. 

Naked-gland  Orchises,  see  Gymnadenia. 
Nectar,  in   0.  mascula,  22 ;  in  Platanthera,  40 ; 
secreted  by  lip  of  P.   viridis,  44  ; 
in  A.  bulbosa,  55;  secreted   by  lip 
of  L.  ovata,  60  ;  in  C.  spectabile,  78; 
in  S-    autumnalis,   108,  109;   in  H. 
psy codes,    11 1  ;  in  H.  lacera,  in  ;  in 
G.  rep  ens,  119. 
Nectary,  structure  of,  as  affecting  fertilization, 
22,  24;   of  Angrcecum,   25;  punct- 
ured   by   insects,   40  ;    of   Eracted 
Green   Orchis,  43  ;  in  H.  virescens 
and  II.  viridis,  101. 
Neottia  tort  His,   Pursh,    Barton,  see   Spiran- 
thes graminca. 
Neottia,   Drooping-flowcrcd,    see    Spiranthes 
cernua. 
"  Nodding-flowered,  same  as  above. 

11  Veined-leaved,    see  Goody  era  pu- 

bescens. 
Neottia,  the  tribe,  58,  120. 
Noah's  Ark,  sec  Cyp.  acaule. 


Nodding-flowered  Ladies'-Tresses,  see  Spiran- 
thes cernua. 

Nodding  Pogonia.  see  P.  pendula. 

Northern  Green  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  hyper- 
borea. 

Northern  White  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  dila- 
tata. 


Old  Goose,  see  Cyp.  acaule. 
One-leaved   Adder's-mouth,     see    Microstylis- 
7iionophyllos. 
"  Microstylis,  same  as  above. 

Ophrydeae,  the  tribe,  40  ;  development  of  cau- 

dicle,  123. 
Ophrys,  caudicles  in,    108  ;  auricles  or  crests 

absent  from  some  species,  1 16. 
Orchis  Family,  characters  of.  6-9  ;  synopsis  of, 

11-15- 
Orchis,  Linnaeus,  39. 

Orchis  bidentata,   Elliott,  see  Habenaria  tri~ 
dentata. 
"  ciliaris,  Linnaeus,  see  H.  ciliaris. 

"  dilatata,   Pursh,  see  H.  dilatata, 

Gray. 
"  fimbriata,    Pursh,     Bigelow,    see 

H .  psy  codes. 
"  fimbriata,     Aiton,     Willdenow, 

Hooker's  Ex.  Flora,  see  H.  fim- 
briata, 
"  fissa,   Muhlenberg  in  Willdenow, 

see  H.  psy  codes. 
"  flava,  Linnaeus,  see  H.  virescens. 

"  fuscescens,  Pursh,  same  as  above. 

"  grandiflora,  Bigelow,  see  H.  fim- 

briata. 
"  herbiola,  Pursh,  see  H.  virescens. 

"  incissa,  Muhlenberg  in  Wildenow,. 

see  H.  psy  codes. 
"  lacera,  Michaux,  see  H.  lacera. 

"  maculata,  38. 

"  mascula,  20  ;  illustration,  20-22. 

"  morio,  94. 

11  obtusata,  Pursh,  see  H.  obtusata. 

"  orbiculata,    Pursh,  see  H.  orbicu- 

lata,  Torrey. 
11  psy  codes,     Muhlenberg,      see     H. 

lacera. 
u  psycodes,  Linnaeus,  see  H.  psy  codes. 

"  pyramidalis,  123. 

rotundifolia,  Pursh,   57  ;   illustra- 
tion, 51. 
"  scutellata,  Nuttall,  see  H  virescens. 

"  spectabilis,  Linnaeus,  20, 145;  fertili- 

zation, 21,  22;  illustrations,  18,  25. 
"  iridc/ttata.    Muhlenberg,    Willde- 

now, see  H.  tridentata. 
11  virescens,  Muhlenberg,  Willdenowv 

see  //.  virescens. 
Orchis,  Dwarf,  see  77.  obtusata. 
"  False,  39. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


157 


Orchis,    Feather-leaved,     see     H.     blephari- 
glottis. 
"  Flaming,  see  H.  psycodes. 

Fringed,  93. 
"  Gay,  see  Orchis  spectabilis. 

Greenish,  see  H.  viresce7is. 
"  Green  Fringed,  see//",  lacera. 

Large  Purple  Fringed,  see  H.fim- 
briata. 
''  Large  Two-leaved,  see  H.  orbicu- 

lata,  Torrey. 
Naked-gland,  see  Gymnadenia. 
''  Northern  Green,  see  //.  hyperborea. 

"  Northern  White,  see  H.  dilatata. 

"  One-leaved,  see  H.  obtusata. 

Round-leaved,  see  Orchis  rotundi- 
folia. 
"  Showy,  see  Orchis  spectabilis. 

"  Small  Purple  Fringed,  see  H.  psy- 

codcs. 
"  Small  Two-leaved,  see  H.  Ilookeri. 

"  Spring,  see  O.  spectabilis. 

"  Three-leaved,  see  H.  tridentata. 

"  True,  39. 

"  White  Fringed,  see    H.   blephari- 

glottis. 
"  Yellow  Fringed,  see  H.  Ciliaris. 

Ovary,  or  Ovarium,  explanation  of  term,  7. 

Papillae,  in  Cypripedium,  28. 
Pedicel,  Drum-like,  42,  102. 
Peristylus  viridis,  44;  illustration,  44. 
Phaneroptera  curvicauda,  111. 
Plantanthera  dilatata,  see//,  dilatata. 

"  Jimbriata,  Lindley,  see  H.  psycodes. 

"  fava,  Gray,  see  H.  -virescens. 

holopetala,    Lindley,    see    H.    ble- 
phariglottis.  var.  holopetala. 
''  Hookcri,  see  H.  Hooker i. 

"  Huronensis,  Lindley,  see  H.  hyper- 

borea. 
"  psycodes,  Lindley,  see  H.  lacera. 

"  rotundifolia,  Lindley,  see   Orchis 

rotundifolia- 
Platanthera,  Richard,  39  ;  conspicuousness  of 

some  species  at  night,  102. 
Pogonia,  Jussieu,  56  ;  development  of  different 

species,  117. 
Pogonia  affinis,  C.  F.  Austin,  56. 

"        ophioglossoides,    Nuttall,     80-85,     117; 

fertilization,  84;  illustrations,  80,81. 

"       pendicla,    Lindley,    116;    illustration, 

118. 
"        verticillata,  Nuttall,  56,  117  ;  note,  90  ; 
illustration,  55. 
Pogonia,  Adder's-mouth,  see  P.  ophioglossoides. 
u  Nodding,  see  P.  pendula. 

"  Pendent,  same  as  above. 

"  Snake-mouth,  see  P.  ophioglossoides. 

"         Whorled,  see  P.  verticillata. 
Pollen-mass,  explanation  of  term,  21,  145. 


Pollinium,  or  pollen-mass  with  stalk  and  disc, 

sec  above. 
Preacher  in  the  Pulpit,  see  Orchis  Spectabilis. 
Purple  Fringed  Orchis,  see  H.fimbriata. 
Pursh,  color  of    Cyp.   acaule,  29 ;     Aplectruvi 

hyemale,  74,  ;  on  G.  pubesccns,  124. 
Putty-root,  sec  Aplectruvi  hyemale. 

Ragged-fringed  Orchis,  see  //.  lacera. 

Ram's-head  Lady's  Slipper,  see  Cyp.  arieti- 
num. 

Rattlesnake  Plantain,  see  Goodyera. 

Rein  Orchis,  sec  Habenaria. 

Rostellum,  explanation  of  term,  7;  in  O.  mas- 
cula,  21  ;  lacking  in  Cypripedium, 
27;  structure  in  //.  Hoe/eeri,  41;  in  L. 
orata,  58-60 ;  in  H.  dilatata,  69  ; 
lacking  in  P.  ophioglossoides,  88 ; 
structure  in  Spiranthes,  106-109 ; 
in  Goodyera,  1 19-120  ;  in  O.  specta- 
bilis, 145;  illustrations,  7,  20,  59,  107. 

Roots  of  Orchids,  9. 

Round-leaved  Orchis,  see  O.  rotundifolia. 

Sachs,  on   Corallorhiza,  73  ;    reference  to  his 
Text  Book,  116  ;  on  structure  of  Ne- 
ottia,  126. 
Scape,  explanation  of  term,  9, 
Scrofula-weed,  see  Goodyera pubescens. 
Scudder,  Dr.  Samuel  H.,  on  fertilization  of  P. 
ophioglossoides,  85-88. 
!  Seeds,  number  produced  by  Orchids,  38. 
Sesia,  species  of ,  fertilizers  of  H.  psycodes,  in, 

112. 
Showy  Lady's  Slipper,  see  Cyp.  spcctabile. 
Small  Late  Coral-root,  see  Corallorhiza  odonto- 

rhiza. 
Small  Round-leaved   Orchis,  see   O.   rotundi- 
folia. 
Smaller  Two-leaved  Orchis,  see  //.  Hookeri. 
Smith,  S.  I.,  on  fertilization  of  Cyp.  spectabile, 

78  ;  H.  psycodes,  n  1. 
Snake -mouth  Pogonia,  see  P.  ophioglossoides. 
Species  identical  with  those  of  Great  Britain. 
Sphynx    drupiferarum,    with     pollen-masses, 

102. 
Spiranthes,  Richard,  65  ;  structure  of,  106. 
Spiranthes,  a-stivalis,  Oakes'  Cat.,  see  S.  lati- 
folia. 
"•  autu?nnalis,    106 ;    illustration,   107. 

"  Bcckii,  Lindley,  see  S.  gracilis. 

"  cernua,     Richar i,    127  ;      structure 

and  fertilization,  106-110;  illustra- 
tion, 129. 
u  decipie?is,   see  Goodyera  Jfenziesii. 

"  gemtnipara,     Lindley,    see    S.  Ro- 

manzoviana. 
"  gracilis,    Bigelow,    106-110;    illus- 

tration, 129. 
"  grami7iea,  Lindley.    var.   Walteri, 

106  ;  illustration,  103. 


58 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


Spiranthes,  lafifolia,  Torrey,  65. 

"  plantaginca,      Torrey     in      N.    Y. 

Flora,  not  of  Lindlcy,  see  S.  lati- 
folia. 
"  Romanzoviana,   Chamisso,    105  ;   il- 

lustrations, 103,  106. 
"  Torlilis,    Chapman,     see    S.    gra- 

in ine  a. 
Spiranthes,    Broad-leaved,  see  5".  latifolia. 
Grassy,  see  6".  graminea. 
Slender,  see  S  .gracilis. 
Simple,  sec  S.  simplex. 
Stemless  Lady's  Slipper,  see  Cyp.  acaule. 
Sterile  stamen,  27 ;  illustration,  27. 
Stigma,  explanation  of  term,  7. 

Tattered  fringed    Orchis,   see    Habenaria  la- 

cera. 
Thoreau  on  Fringed  Orchises,  94. 
Three  Birds,  see  Pogonia  pendula. 


Three-toothed  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  triden- 
tata.  The  name  might  apply  to  H 
viridis,  also. 

Torn-flowered  Habenaria,  see  II.  lacera. 

Tipularia,  Nuttall,  90, 

Tipularia  discolor,  Nuttall,  90:  illustration,  91. 

Trelease,  Prof.,  on  spots  on  labellum  in  Cypri- 
pedium,  36. 

Twayblade,  see  Liparis  and  Listera. 

Venus'-Slipper,  see  Cypripedium. 
Viscid  disc,  see  Disc. 

Wasps,  attracted  by  colors,  46  ;  agents  in  devel- 
opment of  species,  64. 
Whippoorwill  Shoe,  see  Cyp.  pubescens. 
Whorled  Pogonia,  see  P.  vcrticillata. 
Wooster,  David,  on  root,  in  Orchis,  145. 

Yellow  Fringed  Orchis,  see  Habenaria  ciliaris. 
Yellow  Lady's  Slipper,  see  Cyp.  pubescens. 


INDEX    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


POPULAR  NAMES  WILL  BE  FOUND  IN  GENERAL  INDEX. 


Acontia  luctuosa  (from  Darwin),  23. 

Aplectrum  hy  male,  71. 

Arethusa  bulbosa,  51,  54  (from  Gray). 

Calopogon  pulchellus,  80,  81. 

Calypso  borealis,  47. 

Corallorhiza  (root),  73. 

"  multiflora,  71. 

Cypripedium,  27. 

acaule,  33. 
arietinum,  33. 

calceolus  (from  Muller),  27. 
parviflorum,  27,  33. 
spectabile,  frontispiece. 
Goodyera  pubescens,  121,  126. 

"         repens,  121. 
Habenaria  chlorantha  (from  Darwin),  41. 
"  ciliaris,  114,  116. 

11  dilatata,  67. 

"  fimbriata.  95. 

"  Hookeri,  18,  41. 

"  lacera  (from  Sweet),  116. 

"  obtusata,  78. 

"         orbiculata,  99,  102  (from  Gray). 
"         psycodes,  99. 
"  tridentata,  67. 

"         virescens,  98. 
"  viridis,  var.,  43,  44. 


Liparis  liliifolia,  65. 

"        Lceselii,  61,  64. 
Listera  convallarioides,  61,64. 

11       cordata.  61. 

"       ovata  (from  Muller),  59 

Microstylis  monophyllos,  89. 
"  ophioglossoides,  8g. 

Orchis  mascula  (from  Darwin),  20. 
"      rotundifolia,  51. 
"      spectabilis,  18,  25. 

Peristylus  viridis  (from  Darwin),  44. 
Pogonia  ophioglossoides,  81. 

"        pendula,  118. 

"        verticillata,  55. 

Section  of  the  flower  of  an  Orchid  (from  Dar- 
win), 7. 
Sphynx  drupiferarum  (from  Darwin),  102. 
Spiranthes  autumnalis  (from  Darwin),  107. 

"  cernua,  129. 

"         gracilis.  129. 

"         graminea,  var.,  103. 

"  Romanzoviana,  103,  106. 

Tipularia  discolor,  91,  159. 


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