CALOPOGON TUBEROSUS (L.) BSP.

Grass-pink; Swamp-pink

 

 

FAMILY:  Orchidaceae

 

SYNONYMS:  C. pulchellus (Salisb.) R. Br.

 

HABIT:  Herbaceous perennial, 0.7-10.0 dm., from a small corm; flowering late May to early July; highly variable in height and in number of flowers per plant.

 

SIMILAR SPECIES:  Vaguely resembling Arethusa bulbosa (Dragon-mouth) and Pogonia ophioglossoides (Rose Pogonia), both of which have solitary flowers.

 

TOTAL RANGE:  FL to TX, n. to Nfld., Ont., and MN.

 

STATE RANGE:  Formerly much more widespread than today, being reported in 14 scattered counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Clark, Fulton, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Meigs, Perry, Scioto, and Stark counties.  Now known only from small populations in 8 counties of northern and western Ohio: Champaign, Cuyahoga, Erie, Licking, Lucas, Portage, Summit, and Wayne counties.

 

STATE STATUS:  1980-1997: Potentially Threatened, 1998-1999: Threatened, 2000 to present: Potentially Threatened.

 

HABITAT:  A diverse range of open, wet situations, with the only apparent common factors being full sunlight and a constant water supply.  Ohio populations have been reported from sphagnum bogs, wet prairies, fens, road ditches, and sandy seepages.

 

HAZARDS:  Drying of habitat; overshading by woody species; overcollecting.

 

RECOVERY POTENTIAL:  Probably good; Case (1964) indicates that it will withstand moderate disturbance. 

 

INVENTORY GUIDELINES:  Collecting should be discouraged.

 

COMMENTS:  The number of individuals in any population varies greatly from year to year; often a heavy flowering follows moderate disturbance of the habitat.

 

SELECTED REFERENCES: 

 

Case, F.R.  1964.  Orchids of the western Great Lakes region.  Cranbrook Institute of Science Bull. No. 48, Bloomfield Hills, MI.  147 p.

 

Luer, C.A.  1975.  The native orchids of the United States and Canada excluding Florida.  New York Botanical Garden.  New York, NY.  361 p.

 

Voss, E.G.  1966.  Nomenclatural notes on Monocots.  Rhodora 68: 435-463.

 

 

Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

 

Created:  1/1980 Allison W. Cusick

Database Code:  SPGY.K69