Part 40

The specific name, ochroleuca, refers to the yellowish-green or ochroleucous color of the flowers.

Small hillside and damp pasture-land orchid, with fleshy or tuberous roots. August-September 1st-15th.

=Flowers= yellowish-green, very fragrant, in densely flowered raceme, conspicuously acute in bud, of creamy-green color, in company with G. cernua, but not so abundant. =Labellum= oblong, crenulate or crisped. =Stem= 12-20 inches high, pubescent. =Leaves= linear, tapering at both ends, basal, with bract-like leaves above. Slightly later than G. cernua.

Continental Range—From New Hampshire, southward to Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

New England Range—Without doubt in each State in company with G. cernua, of which it appears to be a form. Frequent Mt. Washington, Massachusetts, and swamps about North Adams, September 1st (Grace G. Niles).

4.—GYROSTACHYS CERNUA (Linnæus) Kuntze, 1753-1891

NODDING LADIES’ TRESSES

The specific name, cernua, refers to cernuous or nodding flowers of this species.

Small bogland or damp meadow orchid, with fleshy or tuberous roots. August 25th-September 1st-28th-October.

=Flowers= white, fragrant, nodding or spreading, ½ inch long, in three rows; densely flowered raceme, twisted, 4-5 inches long, ½-⅔ inch thick. =Labellum= oblong, apex rounded, crisped. Lateral =sepals= free; upper one arching with =petals=. =Stem= 6-25 inches high. =Leaves= at or near base, linear-oblanceolate, 3-14 inches long, with 2-6 bracts above.

Continental Range—From the Barren Grounds in latitude 64°-69° North, southward to Florida; westward to Minnesota, Kansas, Indian Territory, Texas, and New Mexico.

New England Range—Maine, common; New Hampshire, common; Vermont, common; Massachusetts, common; Connecticut, very common.

5.—GYROSTACHYS SIMPLEX (A. Gray) Kuntze, 1867-1891

LITTLE SIMPLE LADIES’ TRESSES

The specific name, simplex, refers to the simplicity of this species.

Slender sandy soil orchid, with single tuberous root. August-September 9th.

=Flowers=, white, small, ¹⁄₁₂ inch long; in slender, twisting, spiked raceme, 1 inch long. =Labellum= obovate-oblong, short-clawed, and crisped at the summit; callosities nipple-shaped. =Stem= simple and slender, 5-9 inches high, with small bracts above basal leaves, glabrous, slightly twisted. =Leaves= 2-3 basal, oblong and short, disappearing at or after flowering season.

Continental Range—From Massachusetts, southward to Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Tennessee. It appears more frequent near the coast, from Nantucket, Delaware, Staten Island, and throughout New Jersey, in company with G. gracilis.

New England Range—Massachusetts, rare; Rhode Island, rare; Connecticut, infrequent.

6.—GYROSTACHYS GRACILIS (Bigelow) Kuntze, 1824-1891

SLENDER LADIES’ TRESSES

The specific name, gracilis, refers to the slender and grass-like spike of this species.

Small sandy woodland or pasture-land orchid, with several spindle-shaped tuberous roots. April 15th, Florida (Curtiss); May, Alabama; July 25th-September-October 15th, both North and South.

=Flowers= white, very fragrant, ⅙-¼ inch long, in a slender spiked raceme, 1-3 inches long, ⅓-½ inch thick, loose, usually much twisted. =Labellum= white on margins, thick and greenish in middle, ⅙ inch long, clawed at the base, crenulate at the apex. =Stem= 8-24 inches high, slender, grass-like. =Leaves= 3 obovate, sometimes nearly orbicular, basal, dying away at or before flowering season.

Continental Range—From Nova Scotia, southward throughout Canada, and New England, to Florida; westward to Minnesota, and Texas.

New England Range—Maine, common; New Hampshire, very common; Vermont, common; Massachusetts, common; Rhode Island, very common; Connecticut, common.

Showing the spindle-shaped roots; this species is closely allied with G. simplex, which produces but a single tuber.]

VII