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Calopogon multiflorus Lindl.
Many-flowered Grass-pink
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G3
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: None
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 5
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Wet savannas; pitcherplant bogs
Perennial herb with 1 - 2 grass-like leaves at the base of the stem, 1 - 6 inches (3 - 15 cm) long and usually less than 0.35 inch (9 mm) wide. The stem is 7 - 20 inches (17 - 50 cm) tall, leafless, dark purplish-brown. The flower cluster has 2 - 15 dark pink, very fragrant flowers crowded at the top; most of the flowers in the cluster open at the same time. Flowers have 2 spreading petals, an erect lip petal, and 3 spreading sepals. The petals are widest above the middle, with a narrow base and bluntly pointed tip. The lip petal is as wide as long, with a patch of yellow-orange bristles. The middle sepal is usually less than 0.6 inch (1.7 cm) long; the lateral sepals are spreading but not reflexed backwards. Fruit is an erect capsule, 0.5 - 0.8 inch (1.3 - 2.2 cm) long.
Bearded Grass-pink (Calopogon barbatus) petals are widest below the middle and its flowers are not fragrant; it occurs in wet flatwoods.
Tuberous Grass-pink (Calopogon tuberosus) leaves are wider than 0.35 (9 mm) inch, the middle sepal is longer than 0.8 inch (2 cm), and the petals are widest below the middle.
Pale Grass-pink (Calopogon pallidus) flowers are white or pale pink (rarely dark pink), and the lateral sepals are flexed backwards.
Oklahoma Grass-pink (Calopogon oklahomensis) was last seen in Calhoun County in 1947. It resembles Bearded Grass-pink (Calopogon barbatus), but its leaves are wider and the flowers are fragrant. For more information, see: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101509 http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Calopogon%20oklahomensis
More than 30 other species of orchids are rare in Georgia.
Dry to moist (not wet) pine flatwoods and savannas with Wiregrass and Saw Palmetto.
Many-flowered Grass-pink is a perennial herb rising from a forked, elongated bulb-like corm. Like many orchids, it blooms sporadically, usually following a fire. Its flowers differ from most orchid flowers in that the lip is held erect at the top of the flower, rather than the bottom. The lip bears a crest of yellow-orange bristles that attracts pollinators, primarily bees (the name Calopogon means “beautiful beard,” referring to the showy crest of bristles). When the bee lands on the bristles, its weight bends the lip forward, dropping the bee onto the pollen-bearing column below. The pollen packets (pollinia) stick to the back of the bee and are then carried to the next flower. If the bee is already carrying a pollen packet from a previously visited flower, it will leave this pollen behind as it struggles to escape the collapsed lip, pollinating this flower before it leaves for the next. Orchid seeds are minute, dust-like, and easily dispersed by the wind. As with all species of orchid, the seeds of Many-flowered Grass-pink require the presence of certain species of fungi to germinate and support seedlings.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering, primarily in April but plants may flower March–June, depending on the timing of recent fire.
Coastal Plain of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Fire suppression, ditching and draining of flatwoods, conversion of habitat to pine plantations and agriculture.
Calopogon multiflorus is ranked S1 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is critically imperiled in the state. Five populations have been documented in 5 Coastal Plain counties, but it has been seen only once since 2000.
Plants flower after winter and early spring burns; apply prescribed fire every 2 - 3 years. Protect pine flatwoods from draining, bedding, clear-cutting, roller-chopping, and other disturbances to hydrology and soil.
Brown, P.M. and S.N. Folsom. 2002. Wild orchids of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Chafin, L.G. 2000. Field guide to the rare plants of Florida. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee.
GADNR. 2019. Element occurrence records for Calopogon multiflorus. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Goldman D.H. and S.L. Orzell 2000. Morphological, geographical, and ecological re-evaluation of Calopogon multiflorus (Orchidaceae). Lindleyana 15: 237-237. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20013007221
Goldman, D.H., L.K. Magrath, P.M. Catling. 2003. Calopogon multiflorus species account. Flora of North America, vol. 26. Oxford University Press, New York. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101508
Goldman, D.H., C. van den Berg, and M.P. Griffith. 2004. Morphometric circumscription of species and infraspecific taxa in Calopogon R.Br. (Orchidaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 247: 37-60. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00606-004-0137-z
Goldman, D.H., R.K. Jansen, C. van den Berg, I.J. Leitch, M.F. Fay, and M.W. Chase. 2004. Molecular and cytological examination of Calopogon (Orchidaceae, Epidendroideae). American Journal of Botany 91(5): 707-723. https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3732/ajb.91.5.707
NatureServe. 2019. Calopogon multiflorus comprehensive report. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Calopogon%20multiflorus
Schotz, A.R. 2004. Rangewide status survey for Calopogon multiflorus, Many-flowered Grass-pink. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.
Trapnell, D.W. 1995. Systematic review of Calopogon (Orchidaceae). M.S. Thesis, University of Georgia, Athens.
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, Feb. 2008: original account.
K. Owers, Jan. 2010: updated status and ranks, added pictures.
L. Chafin, Jan 2020: updated original account.
