#calopogon

Orchid amongst the carnivores Calopogon tuberosus a bog, Wisconsin, USA

Above are a few leftovers from my orchid hunt at Cranberry Glades this past weekend. From top: small cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), whose delicate pink flowers with recurved petals are easy to overlook in the sphagnum; an otherworldly ensemble of purple pitcher plant flowers; the creamy, thread-like flowers of tall meadow rue (Thalictrum pubescens); narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), a member of the iris (Iridaceae) family; a ramp flower, which appears in June or July after the leaves of this wild onion have died back; swamp dewberry (Rubus hispidus), a creeping, bog-loving blackberry that forms dense colonies on the ground; plantain-leaved sedge (Carex plantaginea), arguably the most beautiful of our broad-leaved woodland sedges; and another photo of tuberous grass pink (Calopogon tuberosus), whose architectural splendor speaks for itself. 

After a controlled burn at Tosohatchee, grass pink orchids bloom and blaze brightly in the late sunlight. 

Calopogon tuberosus - A beautiful native orchid with the rather boring common name ‘grass pink’

Finishing up this Calopogon tuberosus illustration. Unlike a typical orchid, Calopgon flowers appear to be upside down, with the lip at the top. Each flower is actually hinged, allowing it to swing closed over a bee when it lands to pollinate. But the plant is not carnivorous - it allows the insect to squeeze out, making sure it covers itself in pollen in the struggle. #calopogon #watercolor

4/17 at Green Swamp Preserve, North Carolina

One of my favorite blooms of the year: swamp pink. This native orchid, Calopogon pallidus, loves the boggy soil in the West Island garden and blooms alongside the pitcher plants. #rvagardentrail #rva #orchid #calopogon #calopogonpallidus (at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)

Painting the flowers of this terrestrial orchid -  Calopogon tuberosus. As showy as many tropical orchids, this wildflower is native to marshy areas across the Eastern US, and as far north as Newfoundland. #calopogon #watercolor