Perennial herbs, with corms, bulbs, or tuberous roots, sheathing entire leaves, sometimes reduced to scales, the flowers perfect, irregular, bracted, solitary, spiked or racemed. Perianth superior of 6 segments, the 3 outer (sepals) similar or nearly so, 2 of the inner ones (petals) lateral, alike; the third inner one (lip) dissimilar, often markedly so, usually larger and often spurred; stamens and style variously arranged. An extensive family with great diversity of flower form, and habit of growth. Most abundant in the tropics, represented in the region as follows:

Stem 8—10 inches high from a decumbent base, leafy, hairy throughout. Leaves 4 or 5, lanceolate, acuminate, veiny, 3—4 inches long, yellowish-green, and clasping at the base. Flowers solitary, small; lip obovate, inflated half an inch long, white, spotted with purple inside, particularly near the base; sepals greenish, shorter than the lip, the upper forming a sort of hood; the lateral petals white, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, half an inch long, spreading.

In damp shaded situations, frequent in the Rockies; flowers in July.

Stem 1—2 feet high, slender, and leafy. Leaves elliptic or lanceolate, 2—6 inches long, 1—2¼ inches wide, yellowish-green, veiny, scatteringly hairy. Flowers usually solitary, bright yellow; lip inflated, curved, an inch or more long, spotted and blotched inside with purple; sepals and petals longer than the lip, laterals twisted, 1½—2 inches long, lanceolate with an attenuate tip, yellowish-green or sometimes purplish.

Not uncommon in the Rockies in moist ground, very abundant on the torrent fan among loose stones at the head of Emerald Lake; flowering in June.

Stem smooth, greenish-yellow or purplish; 4—12 inches high from a mass of coral-like roots. Leaves absent but represented by 2—5 closely sheathing scales. Flowers 3—12 in a head 1—3 inches long; sepals and petals slender, ¼ of an inch long, yellowish or dull purplish; lip not quite as long as the petals, white or whitish, oblong, nearly entire or slightly notched at the apex, 2-toothed at the base, occasionally with purple spots.

Frequent in woods in the Rockies especially those of the “Jack Pine,” flowering in May and early June.

Stems 8—20 inches high, purplish, with several appressed scales. Flowers 10—30 in a head 2—8 inches long, brownish-purple ½—¾ of an inch long; sepals and petals linear-lanceolate, about ⅓ of an inch long; lip white, spotted and lined with purple, oval in outline, deeply 3-lobed, the middle lobe broadest; spur manifest and yellowish.

Not infrequent in the rich woods in the Selkirks; flowering in late summer.

Stem 3—6 inches high, purplish, from a bulb nearly half an inch in diameter. Leaf solitary, dark, lustrous green, 1—1½ inches long, round, ovate, obtusely pointed at the apex, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, deeply veined. Flower solitary, nodding, an inch long, rosy purple variegated with pink and yellow; petals and sepals linear, erect or spreading, half an inch or more long with longitudinal purple lines; lip ¾ of an inch long, sac-like and spreading, divided into two below, with a prominent patch of yellow hairs near the point of division.

This charming little orchid, by far the most dainty of any found in the region, is frequent, growing in deep moss on the shaded slopes of the Rockies; very fragrant, flowering in early June.

Plant slender, 8—10 inches high with one leaf near the base, varying from nearly orbicular to oval, 1½—3 inches long, 1—2 inches wide, sheathing at the base. Spike 2—8 flowered; flowers half an inch or more long; lateral sepals spreading, somewhat longer than the petals, petals and sepals oval, rose-colour; lip white, purple-spotted, longer than the petals, three-lobed, the middle longest, dilated and two-lobed or notched at the tip; spur slender, shorter than the lip.

This beautiful little orchid is abundant throughout the Rockies in cool mossy spots and rich woods; flowering in June.

Plant 6—8 inches high from a short thick rootstock; stem naked with a single obovate or oblong leaf at the base 1½—2½ inches long, ½—1½ inches wide, obtuse. Flowers few in a slender spike, yellowish-green; upper sepal round, ovate, erect, surrounding the broad column; lateral sepals reflexed and spreading; petals lanceolate, smaller; lip entire, linear-lanceolate, and deflexed; spur slightly curved especially at the tip, shorter than the ovary.

Frequent throughout the Rockies in the lower valleys, in cool shaded spots growing in moss, on the borders of streams, ponds, or lakes; flowering in June.

Stem slender and smooth, 3—8 inches high. Leaves sessile, cordate or broadly ovate, ½—1 inch long; head of flowers rather loose, ½—2 inches long, 4—20-flowered; flowers very minute, purplish or greenish; sepals ovate; petals oblong, about ¹/₁₆ of an inch long; lip two-cleft, twice as long as the petals, the segments linear or hair-like.

This diminutive orchid is one of the commonest species throughout the region in early summer, growing abundantly in mossy places in the moist woods, frequently not rising more than an inch or two above the surface of the ground; the flowers varying greatly in color from yellowish green to purple.

Stem rather stout, 4—10 inches high, glandular-hairy above the leaves. Leaves smooth, round, oval or ovate, obtuse, 3—9 nerved, 1—2½ inches long, ½—1½ inches wide. Flowers 3—12 in a loose head, yellowish-green, ½ an inch long; bracts nearly ¼ of an inch long; sepals and petals narrow and strongly reflexed in flower, much shorter than the lip; lip nearly half an inch long, broadly wedge-shaped with two obtuse lobes at the apex and with a tooth at each side of the narrow base; column elongated but shorter than the lip, and incurved with two short projecting wings above the anther.

In hemlock woods throughout the Selkirks; flowering in July.

Stems 3—5 inches high, smooth below, glandular and with long silky scattered hairs among the flowers. Leaves oval, slightly sheathing, obtuse, an inch or more long, half as broad, generally smooth. Flowers few in a raceme; sepals and petals nearly equal, linear, obtuse, about ¼ of an inch long; lip half an inch long, obtuse at the apex with very obtuse lobes. Yellowish-green with a purplish middle and purple nerves radiating into the apical lobes, column slightly incurved, ⅛ of an inch long.

Generally distributed throughout the Rockies but never abundant, seldom more than 3 or 4 plants being found together; flowering in July.

Plant 8—15 inches high from a hairy, creeping rootstock. Leaves basal, 1½—2½ inches long and a third as broad, tapering to both ends, dark green and veiny, sometimes blotched with white. Flowers ¼ to nearly ½ an inch long, yellowish- or greenish-white, in a slender spike; sepals and petals lanceolate, erect or nearly so about half the length of the lip, lip swollen at the base and with a long narrow recurved tip.

Frequent in rich woods throughout the region, growing in moss, the evergreen leaves forming a rosette at the base of the stalk of flowers, which blossom in August.

Plant 6—10 inches high, glandular-hairy in the upper part of the stem. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, an inch or more long and a third as wide, tapering to both ends, green and usually blotched with white along the veins. Flowers small in a one-sided spike, greenish-white, about ¼ of an inch long, densely glandular-hairy on the outer surface; sepals and petals erect, ovate; lip sac-like with a narrow recurved tip.

Frequent in the woods throughout the Rockies, flowering in July.

Stem stout and leafy, 6—18 inches high, from a root of numerous fusiform tubers. Leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 2—4 inches long. Flowers in a loose spike 2—3 inches long with bracts an inch long; flowers yellowish-green, sepals ovate-lanceolate, dilated at the base, ¼ of an inch long; petals very narrow or sometimes thread-like; lip nearly half an inch long, oblong-spatulate, 2—3-toothed or lobed at the tip, more than twice as long as the white sac-like spur.

Frequent in open grassy woods and meadows throughout the Rockies; flowering in June.

Stem 1, 2, or 3 feet tall, from a root of 2 or 3 fusiform, hairy tubers; leafy. Lowest leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, 2—5 inches long, upper ones lanceolate, acute, much longer. Spike of flowers 4—12 inches long, loosely flowered, the bracts linear-lanceolate, the lowest much longer than the flowers, 1—1½ inches long. Flowers about ½ an inch long; sepals yellowish-green and thin, the upper one ovate, erect, about ⅛ of an inch long, the lateral ones obtuse and spreading, ¼ of an inch long, petals lanceolate, acute, greenish-purple or green; lip purple or greenish, linear, obtuse, thick, over ¼ of an inch long; spur about ½ as long as the lip, sack-like.

Frequent through the region in open swamps, wet meadows and sloughs, varying greatly in size; flowering during June and early July.

Stem 8—18 inches high, strict and leafy. Lower leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, 2—4 inches long, upper lanceolate and acute; spike of flowers short and dense, the bracts linear-lanceolate, the lower slightly exceeding the flowers. Flowers ½ an inch long or less, yellowish-green; upper sepals broadly ovate, erect; lateral ones ¼ of an inch long, acute, spreading; petals erect, lanceolate, acute; lip lanceolate, obtuse, less than ¼ of an inch long; spur club-shaped, curved, about as long as the lip. Differs from the last species in the bright green colour, slightly smaller flowers with broader based lip and the longer, club-shaped curved spur.

In bogs throughout the region; flowering in June.

Stem 18 inches to 2 feet high, slender and leafy. Leaves, the lower oblanceolate and obtuse, the upper lanceolate, acute. Spike of flowers often rather dense, 4—8 inches long; bracts lanceolate, the lower often much exceeding the flowers; flowers ½ an inch or more long, white or sometimes yellowish or greenish-white; upper sepals ovate, obtuse, ¼ of an inch long, lateral ones oblong-lanceolate, spreading; petals lanceolate, slightly shorter than the sepals; lip rhombic-lanceolate, obtuse, about ¼ of an inch long; spur club-shaped about the length of or shorter than the lip.

Throughout the region in open boggy places and wet meadows; flowering in June.

Stem slender, 8—12 inches high, from a narrow fusiform tuberous root. Leaves linear, acute, 2—4 inches long, about ½ an inch wide. Spike of flowers slender, lax; bracts, lanceolate, acuminate, the lower slightly longer than the flowers; flowers pure white with a spicy fragrance; upper sepal ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, the lateral ones linear-lanceolate, acute, and strongly veined; petals narrowly linear-lanceolate equalling the sepals; lip lanceolate with an ovate rhomboid base about ¼ of an inch long; spur slender and curved, slightly exceeding the lip.

In more or less shaded bogs through the Rockies, flowering during July.

Stem smooth, 6—18 inches high, leafy below, bracted above; the lower leaves 3—8 inches long, linear or linear-oblanceolate. Head of flowers more or less glandular, hairy, 2—4 inches long, half an inch or more thick, bracts shorter than the flowers; flowers waxy white or greenish, nearly half an inch long with an open mouth, spreading horizontally and very fragrant; upper sepals broad and obtuse; lip oblong, broad at the base, and contracted below to the crisped apex, thin, transparent, and veined, callosities merely thickenings of the basal margins of the lip.

Throughout the region in springy places and wet alpine meadows; flowering toward the end of July.