Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Arethusa bulbosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Arethusa from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The lanceolate, plicate leaf (15-30cm long, 2-4mm wide) develops after flowering, the flowering plant thus consisting (aboveground) of the solitary scape only, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Arethusa bulbosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Arethusa bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Arethusa bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-09-001:
Arethusa bulbosa FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arethusa bulbosa
COMMON NAME:
Bog-rose, Dragon's-mouth, Arethusa
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_arbu_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3280
May SC
Flowers solitary and scapose; the lip crested with fimbriate ridges, marked with yellow & purple, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3289
May SC
)
JK Marlow jkm230523_3308
May SC
Petals and sepals generally point upward; lip curls downward like a tongue, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jeff Ausmus jma_arebul4
May Roscommon County MI
Roscommon State Forest Area: Higgins Township
)
Jim Fowler jafarethusa_group040615
June ME
)
Jim Fowler jafarethusa_single040615
June ME
)
Jeff Ausmus jma_arebul2
June Roscommon County MI
Roscommon State Forest Area: Richfield Township
The lanceolate, plicate leaf (15-30cm long, 2-4mm wide) usually emerges after flowering, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
Jeff Ausmus jma_arebul3
June Roscommon County MI
Roscommon State Forest Area: Richfield Township
Capsule ovoid, 1.5-2.5cm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Arethusa bulbosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Arethusa bulbosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Arethusa bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Arethusa bulbosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-09-001:
Arethusa bulbosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arethusa bulbosa
2132
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Sphagnous bogs and seepage swamps, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas
Rare (historically in SC, but not recently seen)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Magenta
Bilaterally symmetrical
3 sepals, two lateral and one dorsal
3 petals, the two lateral similar and a third (the lip) enlarged
stamens and pistil fused together into a column
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p331
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p052
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p006
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p022
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".