Curtis Botanical – Plate 6325 – Joseph's Adder's Mouth Orchid / Joseph's Malaxis

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 6325.

A small terrestrial orchid named in honour of someone named Joseph — possibly a collector or patron now lost to history. Malaxis (formerly Microstylis) is a large genus of small ground orchids found across tropical and temperate regions worldwide, including native species in the eastern United States and Illinois.

Related native species grow in Illinois and across the Eastern US woodland floor.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.