Calopogon Arethusa bulbosa
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- ar-e-thew-sa bul-BOH-suh
- Description
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Dragon's Mouth Orchid is a native wildflower in the orchid family that is native from Canada south to SC. It is found the mountains of NC and prefers boggy sites, wet meadows and especially sphagnum bogs. It is a small plant, generally growing only a foot tall. A single beautiful pink flower per stem forms in spring to early summer with the grass-like leaf following. They are easy to overlook in their native habitat.
It is considered endangered in NC. Transplanting this orchid from the wild is rarely successful and they are generally not sold commercially.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Arethusa
- Species:
- bulbosa
- Family:
- Orchidaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central & E. Canada to Central & E. U.S.A south to SC
- Distribution:
- CT , DC , DE , IL , IN , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , NC , NH , NJ , NY , OH , PA , RI , SC , VA , VT , WI Canada: NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Wildflower
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Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Fruit is an erect capsule, ¾ to 1¼ inches long.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Pink
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Head
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Lipped
- Flower Description:
- Forms a single flower with three solid pink sepals that are splayed erect over the flower. Two petals similar to the sepals form a hood over the showy lower lip. The lower lip curves out and down revealing wrinkled edges and purple speckling with fleshy white to yellow bristles
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Leaves:
- Leaf Type:
- Sheath
- Simple
- Leaf Shape:
- Linear
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Flower stem with several tight narrow sheaths and an upper sheath-like leaf that extends after flowering to a narrow grass-like blade 7-10 inches long.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Slender
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Landscape:
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Wet Soil
