Dragon's mouth orchid | |
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Taken Pancake Bay, Ontario | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
Tribe: | Arethuseae |
Subtribe: | Arethusinae |
Genus: |
Arethusa L. |
Species: | A. bulbosa
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Binomial name | |
Arethusa bulbosa | |
Synonyms [3] | |
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Arethusa bulbosa, commonly called dragon's mouth orchid, [4] is the only species in the orchid genus Arethusa. [3] The genus is named after a naiad of Greek mythology. [5] This monotypic genus is abbreviated Aret in trade journals.
This terrestrial and rare orchid occurs in Eastern North America from Manitoba east to Newfoundland and St. Pierre & Miquelon south to Virginia, with isolated populations in northern Saskatchewan and in the Carolinas. [3] [6] [7] It occurs in bogs, swamps and other wet lowlands. It grows to a height of 15 cm. It forms a large, single, pink terminal flower, with a showy lip and white and yellow fringed crests. [2]