Page 124

Mr. Babington on the Neottia gemmipara of Smith. 263

[following] extract from Mr. J. Drummond's original journal, where it appears under
the date of August 3rd; no year is stated, but it must have been, in
Mr. Hinck's opinion, 1809 or 1810: -"The following day I spent on Bear
Island. I found nothing new upon it, but I found a very curious species of
Ophrys, which I believe to be new, upon the main land opposite the western
redoubt, growing in a salt marsh near the shore; it was in very small quanttity.
I only found two specimens." One of these two is probably the specimen
now preserved in Sir. J. E. Smith's Herbarium. From that time until recently
the plant was not noticied by any botanist; but within the last few years it has
been again discovered near to, but probably not in exactly, the original spot
by Dr. P. A. Armstrong, a physician resident at Castleton Bearhaven, in the
county of Cork, growing in small quantity within less than a mile of that
town. He kindly conducted Mr. E. Winterbottom and myself to its station
on the 30th of September 1843. We there saw about twelve specimens,
several of which had been destroyed by cattle, and all the remainder were in
rather an advanced state of flowering. This plant seems to be confined to a
very few spots near to the sea-shore of that district, occupying the drier parts
of rather boggy fields.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE.
TAB. XXXII.

Fig. 1. Spiranthes cernua, natural size.
Fig. 2. A flower and bract, magnified.
Fig. 3. A flower with the sepals and petals removed, to show the column.
Fig. 4. The column of Spiranthes autumnalis, to show the difference.