"orchids in the Southern Appalachians... spring-flowering pink and yellow lady's slippers...
numerous orchid species flower in the area, beginning in early spring through late fall. Summer seems to be the heyday for some of the lesser known... varieties... The.. magenta flowers of grass pink, Calopogon tuberosus, first appear in late spring, but the plants continue blooming well into summer. The common name refers to the grass-like leaves... "calopogon" means "beautiful beard"... referring to the yellow bristles on the end of the flower lip, and "tuberosus" describes the... structure on the roots... Unlike most orchids, the lip is located at the top of the bloom. It contains yellow hairs (beard) which attract the pollinator. When a pollinator, such as a bee, of sufficient weight lands on the lip, this hinged structure drops down, bringing the bee into contact with the pollen-bearing structures resulting in pollen exchange. Grass pink grows primarily along the coastal plain, but also occurs in and around the mountains. A close relative, pale grass pink, Calopogon pallidus, is restricted mainly to the coastal plain. Rosebud orchid, Cleistes divaricata, was given the generic name meaning "closed" because the tube-like flower is open only on one end. Another common name, spreading pogonia, refers to the bronze-colored upward-reaching sepals. Two white or pale-pink upper petals sit atop a third protruding lip-petal which is decorated in dark pink with deep purple veining. ... Rosebuds grow in the mountains and coastal plain. There is much scientific debate over distinct speciation between inhabitants of the two regions... Mid-summer is the realm of Platanthera. This... genera... is represented by more than a dozen species in North Carolina, and this number increases when counting the frequent [natural] hybrids. The group is often referred to as fringed orchids because several members have finely divided (fringed) margins around the lower lip. ... some members lacking this trait are called fringeless. Traits in common include a fused elongated spur protruding from the rear of the lower petal or lip, large anthers which resulted in the scientific name "platanthera" from Greek words meaning "wide anther" and the characteristic flowering arrangement, consisting of a cluster of many small flowers... a raceme. ... the blooms of various species of platanthera present vivid colors, ranging from pure white to cream to green to purple to yellow to orange... Pollination... by long-tongued butterflies and moths which are able to reach the nectary in the back of the spur. ... in his book Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, Stanley L. Bentley describes in detail 52 species from the... region" URL : http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20070723/NEWS/70723003/1031/FEATURES/NEWS/Southern_Appalachians_home_to_numerous_orchid_species ************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
