ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the arrangement of the Orchideae given by Lindley. The British species belong to five of his tribes, the Ophreae, Neotteae, Arethuseae, Malaxeae, and Cypripedeae, but the two latter tribes contain each only a single genus. The rostellum is a nearly spherical, somewhat pointed projection overhanging the two almost confluent stigmas, and must be fully described, as every detail of its structure is full of significance. A section through one of the discs and balls of viscid matter is given; and a front view of both viscid discs within the rostellum is likewise given. The secretion on the stigmas is so viscid that when the pollinia are withdrawn, the elastic threads by which the packets of pollen are bound together are ruptured; and some dark-green grains may be seen, even by the naked eye, remaining on the two white stigmatic surfaces.
