Arethusa Linnaeus. Common name: Dragon's-mouth, Bog-rose, Arethusa.
A monotypic genus (Sheviak & Catling in FNA 2002).
ID notes: The combination of the following characters serves to separate Arethusa from other, vaguely similar, genera: flowers magenta, solitary and scapose, the lip descending, the other 2 petals and 3 sepals erect or ascending. Calopogon has a leafy stem, the inflorescence a raceme, the lip crested but oriented upward. Pogonia has solitary, pale pink flowers, with a descending, bearded lip, but the stem has a well-developed, flat leaf, 1-2.5 cm wide, the flower is subtended by a well-developed, leaf-like, floral bract, and the 2 lower sepals are spreading-descending. Cleistesiopsis has 3 brown to purplish brown sepals.
References: Correll (1950); Sheviak & Catling (2002d) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2002a). Show full citations.
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© Jim Fowler | Arethusa bulbosa | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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