The many-flowered grass-pink, ''Calopogon multiflorus'', is a species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

that requires recurring ground fires to maintain its habitat. It falls under the genus ''

Calopogon ''Calopogon'', grass pink, is a genus of terrestrial orchids (family Orchidaceae). The generic name is from Greek and means "beautiful beard", referring to the cluster of hairs adorning the labellum. The five species are native to the eastern ...

'', meaning "beautiful beard" in Greek, referring to the stamen-like bristles or beard on the lip.

Distribution

''Calopogon multiflorus'' is distributed throughout southeastern United States. It can be found mainly in Florida and also Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This species has become endangered in Florida and North Carolina.Calopogon multiflorus Lindl
US Department of Agriculture

Habitat and ecology

''Calopogon multiflorus'' can be found in dry to moist

flatwoods Flatwoods, pineywoods, pine savannas and longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem are terms that refer to an ecological community in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. Flatwoods are an ecosystem maintained by wildfire or prescribed fire an ...

with wiregrass,

longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

, and saw palmetto. Its habitat also includes mesic pine savannahs on flat or gently-sloping terrain. These

savannas were once widespread in southeastern North America,Peet, R. K. and Allard, D. J. (1993). Longleaf pine vegetation of the southern Atlantic and eastern Gulf Coast regions: a preliminary classification. In The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: Ecology, Restoration and Management, ed. S. M. Hermann, pp. 45–81. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station. and they burned naturally at least once a decade (see map in

fire ecology Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects, the interactions between fire and the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem, and the role as an ecosystem p ...

). Large areas of suitable habitat have since been lost from logging and fire suppression. The soil it grows in is usually sandy to loamy and acidic. Other species that are found growing nearby in the same habitat are blackjack oak (''

Quercus marilandica ''Quercus marilandica'', the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States. Description ''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to ...

''), little gallberry/ink berry (''

Ilex glabra ''Ilex glabra'', also known as Appalachian tea, dye-leaves, evergreen winterberry, gallberry, and inkberry, is a species of evergreen holly native to the coastal plain of eastern North America, from coastal Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Lo ...

''), slender bluestem (''

Schizachyrium tenerum ''Schizachyrium tenerum'' is a species of grass known by the common name slender little bluestem, or slender bluestem. It is native to the Americas, where it occurs in North, Central, and South America.''S. scoparium''), and savannah meadow beauty ('' Rhexia alifanus''). Over a wide range, this species typically does not occur on wet savannahs and bogs with pitcher plants, although one location in Louisiana does have some plants coexisting with pitcher plants. ''C. multiflorus'' requires prescribed annual winter fires for its appearance. In this way it is typical of many of the understory plants in pine savannas. It is known to bloom six to eight weeks after a burn, likely benefiting from the lack of competition with other plants, and the nutrients released during a fire.

Morphology

Characteristics of ''C. multiflorus'' are a dark purple rachis, a forked corm; pandurate lateral petals; elongated, acuminate floral bracts measuring (0.3–0.8)×(0.3–0.5) cm; and a pungent floral fragrance at peak anthesis. After sprouting in early spring, a single leaf, or sometimes two, appear clasping the bloom stem. The number of flowers can range from fifteen to just one flower on a stem. When the flower buds mature, they open in quick succession. Sometimes, it takes only two days for all of the flowers to open. They remain open for a couple days before withering and dropping to the ground. The flowering season for ''C. multiflorus'' ranges from March to May. The average flowering season in Louisiana is mid-April.Calopogon multiflorus – many-flowered grass-pink
Rare Plants of Louisiana, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries This species requires full sun to light shade to grow ideally.

Pollination

This species falsely lures bees with the promise of pollen, but it is not fulfilled. The beard of the flower is deceptive in that once the insect lands on it, the lip of the beard swings down, hinge-like, placing the insect’s head and back on the column thereby picking up

pollinium A pollinium (plural pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of mil ...

load, or placing the pollinium on the stigma if the insect already carries a load on its back.

Conservation

Although this orchid is known historically in Florida and other managed areas, it is now rare due to fire suppression and conversion of habitat to pine plantations.MANY-FLOWERED GRASSPINK. Calopogon multiflorus Lindl. Synonym: Calopogon barbatus
Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Field Guide to Rare Plants. One way to protect this species is to burn flatwoods every 2–3 years during the growing season. These flatwoods can also be protected from bedding, draining, clearcutting, roller-chopping and other soil and hydrology disturbances.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5023255 multiflorus Endemic orchids of the United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Orchids of Florida Plants described in 1840 Flora without expected TNC conservation status