ABSTRACT
The genus Ophrys differs from Orchis chiefly in having separate pouch-formed rostella. The rostellum strictly is a single organ, formed by the modification of the dorsal stigma and pistil; so that in Ophrys the two pouches, the two viscid discs, and the space between them together form the true rostellum. In Ophrys muscifera, or the Fly Ophrys, the chief peculiarity is that the caudicle of the pollinium is doubly bent. The nearly circular piece of membrane, to the underside of which the ball of viscid matter adheres, is of considerable size, and forms the summit of the rostellum. The author examines fourteen flowers of the Spider Ophrys, several of which were partly withered; and in none were both pollinia, and in three alone was one pollinium removed. Hence this species, like the Fly Ophrys, is but little visited by insects in England. Ophrys scolopax of Cavanilles inhabits the north of Italy and the south of France.
