Part 32

SMALL ROUND-LEAVED ORCHIS

The specific name, rotundifolia, refers to the round leaf of this species.

Small woodland or sphagnous bogland orchid with fleshy-fibrous roots. June 10th-July.

=Flowers= white, rose-purple, flecked with deeper purple, ½-⅔ inch long, subtended by bracts; =raceme= 2-6 flowered. =Labellum= 3-lobed, white, purple-spotted, longer than petals, central lobe largest, two-lobed or notched at the summit; spur slender, shorter than labellum. =Sepals= and =petals= oval, rose-color. =Glands= enclosed. =Stem= slender, 8-10 inches high. =Leaf= 1 near the base, orbicular or oval, 1½-3 inches long, and 1-2 inches wide, sheathing scales below.

Continental Range—Rare; from Greenland, southward throughout Canada, in latitude 55°-56° North in British Columbia, Rocky Mountain region to Bristol Swamps, Addison County, Vermont, and Norfolk, Connecticut (?).

New England Range—Maine, rare; New Hampshire, rare; Vermont, rare; Massachusetts, not reported; Rhode Island, not reported; Connecticut, doubtfully reported.

III

Habenaria

Willdenow, 1805

REIN ORCHIS—NAKED GLAND ORCHIS

The generic name, Habenaria, comes from habena, a thong or rein.

=Leafy-stemmed= plants. =Anther= 1. =Glands= naked. =Labellum= spreading or drooping, with a spur at base. =Sepals= and petals free, similar in structure and color. =Anther-sacs= parallel; pollinia without caudicles, powdery or granulose. =Flowers= mostly in a spiked raceme, various in colors, ornamented with spurs, fringed petals and throats. =Fragrance= delicate and exquisite in several species. =Leaves= 1-many, lanceolate, becoming bract-like above. In two species—H. orbiculata (Pursh) Torrey and H. Hookeriana A. Gray—the leaves are orbicular and basal, with or without bracts above. =Roots= thick, fibrous, tuberous or palmate. =Seedlings= appear numerous in many stations.

Continental Range—A genus containing about 450-500 species for the world, widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions in Europe, Asia, and America. There are 50-55 species on the continent of North America north of Mexico.

North American species north of Mexico 50-55 New England species 18 Hoosac Valley species 13-16

New England species:

1. H. orbiculata (Pursh) Torrey, 1814-1826. 2. H. Hookeriana A. Gray, 1836. 3. H. oblongifolia (Paine) Niles, 1865-1903. 4. H. obtusata (Pursh) Richardson, 1814-1823. 5. H. hyperborea (Linnæus) R. Brown, 1767-1813. 6. H. media (Rydberg) Niles, 1901-1903. 7. H. dilatata (Pursh) Hooker, 1814-1825. 8. H. fragrans (Rydberg) Niles, 1901-1903. 9. H. bracteata (Willdenow) R. Brown, 1805-1813. 10. H. clavellata (Michaux) Sprengel, 1803-1826. 11. H. flava (Linnæus) A. Gray, 1753-1840. 12. H. ciliaris (Linnæus) R. Brown, 1753-1813. 13. H. blephariglottis (Willdenow) Torrey, 1805-1826. 14. H. holopetala (Lindley) A. Gray, 1835-1867. 15. H. lacera (Michaux) R. Brown, 1803-1810. 16. H. grandiflora (Bigelow) Torrey, 1824-1826. 17. H. psycodes (Linnæus) A. Gray, 1753-1840. 18. H. Andrewseii White n. sp. (per letter, 1903).

1.—HABENARIA ORBICULATA (Pursh) Torrey, 1814-1826

LARGE ROUND-LEAVED ORCHIS—HEAL-ALL—SHIN-PLASTERS

The specific name, orbiculata, refers to the round or orbicular leaves of this plant.

Tall spiked woodland orchid, with thick fibrous roots. June 17th-July 15th-August 5th.

=Flowers= greenish-white, many in spiked raceme. =Labellum= oblong-linear, white, spur long. =Sepals= and =petals= ⅓ to ½ as long as labellum. Sepals spreading, petals smaller. =Stem= or scape 1-2½ feet high, bracted, occasionally producing one small stem-leaf. =Leaves= 2, basal, large, round, flat-lying, 4-7 inches in diameter.

Continental Range—Not uncommon, but scarcely abundant, from Newfoundland, British Columbia, Lake Superior, southward to the western mountains of North Carolina; westward to Montana, Idaho, and Washington.

New England Range—Maine, common; New Hampshire, common; Vermont, frequent; Massachusetts, occasional; Rhode Island, not reported; Connecticut, rather rare.

2.—HABENARIA HOOKERIANA A. Gray, 1836

SMALL, ROUND-LEAVED ORCHIS—HOOKER’S ORCHIS

The specific name, Hookeriana, refers to Sir J. Hooker, who studied this orchid and in whose honor Dr. Gray designated it.

Damp, hilly woodland orchid with fleshy-fibrous roots. June 10th-August 22d.

=Flowers= many, subtended by small bracts in spiked raceme, yellowish-green; spike 4-8 inches long. =Labellum= linear-lanceolate, acute ⅓-½ inch long. =Sepals= and =petals= greenish, spreading; petals awl-shaped ⅓ inch long. =Stem= 8-18 inches high, not bracted. =Leaves= 2, oval, obovate, or orbicular, slightly ascending, 3-6 inches long.