Meet the Bearded Grasspink! 🌿

TAXA TUESDAY 🌿
w/ the Florida Native Plant Society!
Meet the Bearded Grasspink!
Bearded Grasspink
Calopogon barbatus
Orchidaceae family
This terrestrial orchid species is found in pine savannas, wet flatwoods, and seepage slopes and is especially floriferous post-fire.
“Calopogon” translates to “beautiful beard” and refers to the tuft of yellow hairs atop the labellum. These tufts are a deceptive tactic used to attract pollinators. Calopogon flowers are upside down compared to most orchids; the lip (labellum) is at the top of the bloom, with a tuft of orange-yellow hairs that resemble pollen (but have no pollen.)
Naive, recently emerged bees are attracted, expecting a pollen reward. Bees of sufficient weight force the hinged labellum to swing down, plopping the bee back onto the column. Any pollen attached to the bee from previous flowers it visited is pressed onto the stigma, fertilizing the flower. As the bee rights itself and exits the flower, it inadvertently picks up a new load of sticky pollen found on the end of the column.
This ruse prevents the loss of pollen (costly to the plant) to insect visitors who aren’t effective pollinators. Various bee species are weighty enough to perform this acrobatic ruse and effectively pollinate Calopogon.
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What do we mean when we say “Taxa Tuesday”?
TAXON/TAXA:
A taxon refers to any group (or individual) at any level within the taxonomic ranking system. This could be a species, genus, family, order, or any individual or group. Taxa is plural for taxon. Thanks for tuning in! 👋🏻
#terminologytuesday #terminology #botany #nativeplants #ecology #plantfacts #scicomm #education #taxonomicranking #environmentaleducation #floridanativeplantsociety #biodiveristy #taxa #ecosystems #taxon #taxonomy #plants #Calopogon #Calopogonbarbatus #BeardedGrasspink #BeardedGrasspinkOrchid #TerrestrialOrchid #Orchidaceae

[@brightmooninthenight2111]

How can one tell the difference between Calopogon tuberosus and Calopogon barbatus?

[@floridanativeplantsociety]

C. barbatus is much larger.