Grass pink

? Grass pink
C. tuberosus var. tuberosus
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Tribe: Arethuseae Subtribe: Bletiinae Genus: Calopogon R.Br.
Species
*Calopogon barbatus Calopogon multiflorus Calopogon oklahomensis - Oklahoma grass pink Calopogon pallidus Calopogon tuberosus etc.

Grass pinks (genus Calopogon) are a group of terrestrial orchids (family Orchidaceae). The generic name is from Greek and means "beautiful beard", referring to the cluster of hairs adorning the labellum. The genus is mainly confined to the United States, with 5 species found in the southeastern U.S., but only one north into Wisconsin and parts of Ontario.

The genera Cathea Salisb. and Helleborine Kuntze have been brought into synonymy with Calopogon. In addition, Dianthus plumarius, which is an European pink, is also called grass pink.

Calopogon, like many other orchids, is an indicator species for good remnant hydrology. Translated into English everyone else understands, that means that the presence of native orchids in a natural area shows that there is high-quality ground and surface water around. Most species of calopogon frequent wet, sunny swales, bogs, and the edges of marshy areas, and associates with ferns, sedges, grasses and forbs. Calopogon oklahomensis has been observed in drier areas than Calopogon tuberosus would prefer.

One distinguishing feature of the grass pinks is that, unlike most orchids, they are non-resupinate. The lip of calopogon is on the top of the flower, not the bottom, as is common with most other genera. The brushy, yellow protuberances on the lip are also designed to attract pollinators, but they only tempt without providing a reward. To add injury to insult, the flower then snaps closed when a potential pollinator lands on it, and the insect has to crawl out of the tight quarters between the lip and the reproductive parts below in order to escape, hopefully pollinating the flower in the process.

The other deception they use is their frequent association with nectar-bearing flowers of the same color; calopogon is often an associate of the magenta marsh phlox, in the northern United States, the phlox bearing nectar to reward curious insects while the deceptive but showy calopogon does not.