Page:On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing.djvu/4

 First, for the genus Orchis. The reader may find the following details rather difficult to understand; but I can assure him, if he will have patience to make out this first case, the succeeding cases will be easily intelligible.

The accompanying diagrams (Fig. I.) show the relative position of the more important organs in the flower of the Early Orchis (O. mascula). The sepals and the petals have been removed, excepting the labellum with its nectary. The nectary is shown only in the side view (n Fig. A); for its enlarged orifice is almost hidden in shade in (B) the front view. The stigma (s) is bilobed, and consists of two almost confluent stigmas; it lies under the pouch-formed (r) rostellum. The anther (a in B and A) consists of two rather widely separated cells, which are longitudinally open in front: each cell includes a pollen-mass or pollinium.

Fig. I. ORCHIS MASCULA.