Texas Wildflowers | Calopogon tuberosus, grass pink orchid

This orchid is a familiar orchid as we saw it often in Florida. It’s always nice to see familiar plants back here in Texas. This beautiful orchid, according to Wildflower.org gets it’s genus name from a Greek word meaning beautiful beard. You can definitely see that beautiful beard in the photos above!

Calopogon tuberosus is a widespread ground orchid occurring in many states of the U.S. and is typically found growing in wet pine ecosystems. Flowering time is late spring to early summer—these were blooming in late May/early June at the Watson Preserve.

As always with orchids, you should never collect them from the wild and find a reputable source to purchase them instead. Orchids require particular conditions to germinate their seeds and to grow and often, once taken from their original location, die when you get them home. Don’t risk it! While some states may have healthy populations, others consider the species to be threatened or endangered. A quick Google search will reveal several sites to buy them, so if you are interested in orchids in your garden, look there instead.

More information:
+Florida Native Orchids
+Univ. of Wisconsin Botany site
+USDA plant database
+Raising rarities garden