_Calopogon pulchellus (Limodorum tuberosum)_
_Flowers_--Purplish pink, 1 in. long, 3 to 15 around a long, loose
spike. Sepals and petals similar, oval, acute; the lip on upper side of
flower is broad at the summit, tapering into a claw, flexible as if
hinged, densely bearded on its face with white, yellow, and magenta
hairs (_Calopogon_ = beautiful beard). Column below lip (ovary not
twisted in this exceptional case); sticky stigma at summit of column,
and just below it a 2-celled anther, each cell containing 2 pollen
masses, the grain lightly connected by threads. _Scape:_ 1 to 1-1/2 ft.
high, slender, naked. _Leaf:_ Solitary, long, grass-like, from a round
bulb arising from bulb of previous year.
_Preferred Habitat_--Swamps, cranberry bogs, and low meadows.
_Flowering Season_--June-July.
_Distribution_--Newfoundland to Florida, and westward to the
Mississippi.
Fortunately this lovely orchid, one of the most interesting of its
highly organized family, is far from rare, and where we find the Rose
Pogonia and other bog-loving relatives growing, the Calopogon usually
outnumbers them all. _Limodorum_ translated reads meadow-gift; but we
find the flower less frequently in grassy places than those who have
waded into its favorite haunts could wish.