=Perennial= plants arising from bulbs, corms, fibrous, or tuberous roots. =Stems= or =scapes= 2 inches to 3-4 feet high. =Leaves= parallel-veined, sheathing, and plicate, sometimes reduced to scales. =Flowers= perfect or irregular, solitary or in a spiked raceme, usually subtended by a leafy bract. =Perianth= consists of 6 segments. The =calyx=, or outer whorl, consisting of 3 parts (sepals); the =corolla=, or inner whorl, consisting of 3 parts (petals). The third petal is designated =labellum= (lip), or nectary, and is in orchids the most beautiful part, assuming grotesque shapes ornamented with spurs and fringes. The =stamens= and =pistils= are variously united with the style, forming an unsymmetrical column. =Anther=, 1, or in _Cypripedium_ 2; 2-celled. =Pollen= in 2-8 pear-shaped, usually stalked masses (_pollinia_), united by elastic threads, the masses waxy or powdery, attached at the base to a viscid disk (gland). =Stigma=, a viscid surface, facing the labellum beneath the rostellum, or in a cavity between the anther-sacs (_clinandrium_). =Seed-capsule= (ovary) inferior, long and twisted, 3-angled, 1-celled. =Ovules= minute, spindle-shaped, and numerous; =embryo= fleshy. The colors of orchids are various and beautiful; their fragrance heavy and exquisite in several species. Orchids were known and designated by Linnæus in 1753 as _Gynandrous_, meaning “stamens and pistils united to the column.” There are about 410 genera and from 6,000 to 10,000 species, widely distributed throughout the damp and wooded regions of the world. More abundant in the humid atmosphere of the tropics, where many species are air-plants or epiphytes. The orchids of the temperate and sub-arctic regions are terrestrial, drawing their nourishment from the earth. North American Orchids, North of Mexico 150-160 New England Orchids 48-56 Hoosac Valley Orchids 40-42 Genera of Orchid Family in New England GENERA XV. SPECIES 56. I. _Cypripedium_ Linnæus, 1753—6 species. II. _Orchis_ Linnæus, 1753—2 species. III. _Habenaria_ Willdenow, 1805—18 species. IV. _Pogonia_ Jussieu, 1789—4 species. V. _Arethusa_ Linnæus, 1753—1 species. VI. _Gyrostachys_ Persoon, 1807—6 species. (_Spiranthes_ Richard, 1818.[64]) VII. _Listera_ R. Brown, 1813—3 species. VIII. _Peramium_ Salisbury, 1812—4 species. (_Goodyera_ R. Brown, 1813.[64]) IX. _Achroanthes_ Rafinesque, 1808—2 species. (_Microstylis_ Nuttall, 1818.[64]) X. _Leptorchis_ Thouars, 1808—2 species. (_Liparis_ Richard, 1818.[64]) XI. _Calypso_ Salisbury, 1807—1 species.[65] XII. _Corallorhiza_ R. Brown, 1813—4 species. XIII. _Tipularia_ Nuttall, 1818—1 species.[65] XIV. _Limodorum_ Linnæus, 1753—1 species. (_Calopogon_ R. Brown, 1813.[64]) XV. _Aplectrum_ Nuttall, 1818—1 species.[65] I Cypripedium Linnæus, 1753