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Project Noah Nature School
Arethusa bulbosa
A single pale to hot pink irregular flower atop slender stem. Three solid colored, narrow elliptical sepals, up to ¼ inch wide and 1 to 1¾ inch long, are splayed erect over the flower; two petals similar to the sepals form a hood over the showy lower lip. The lower lip is first ascending then fully curved out and down revealing wrinkled edges and purple speckling with fleshy white to yellow bristles.
Woodland / Bog Trail
Named for the fountain nymph Arethusa, the flower suggests an animal's open mouth. Its unusual lip petal serves as a platform for insects, especially bumblebees, that enter the flower for nectar and pick up the powdery pollen masses as they leave.
Spotted on May 27, 2023
Submitted on Jun 2, 2023
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