Dragon's Mouth Orchid is a native, herbaceous perennial, wildflower in the orchid family (Orchidaceae) that is native from Canada south to the Carolinas. It is found in the mountains of North Carolina and prefers boggy sites, swamps, wet meadows and especially sphagnum bogs. The plant is named for the fountain nymph Arethusa, and the flower suggests an animal's open mouth. It is generally a small plant, growing to a foot tall, although it has been known to reach 3 feet. It features a smooth stalk, bearing tubular, sheathing, nearly bladeless leaves, and topped by a single fragrant pink flower. It blossoms in spring to early summer with the grass-like leaf following. They are easy to overlook in their native habitat. The unusual lip-like petal serves as a platform for visiting insects, especially bumblebees, that enter the flower for nectar and leave with powdery pollen masses. It is considered endangered and listed as "critically imperiled" in North Carolina. Transplanting this orchid from the wild is rarely successful and they are generally not sold commercially. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or other problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasionally Wet
NC region
Mountains
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Sheath; Simple
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Flower stem with several tight narrow sheaths and an upper sheath-like leaf that extends after flowering to a narrow grass-like blade 7 to 10 inches long. Leaf is solitary and basal.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Pink
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Lipped
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Forms a single flower (rarely two) with three solid pink sepals that are splayed erect over the flower. Two petals similar to the sepals form a hood over the showy lower lip. The lower lip curves out and down revealing wrinkled edges and purple speckling with fleshy white to yellow bristles. Inflorescence is terminal; floral bracts minute.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Fruit is an erect capsule, ¾ to 1¼ inches long.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Stems and slender and scapose and, at base, a bulbous corm.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Central and Eastern Canada to Central and Eastern US south to SC
Distribution
CT , DC , DE , IL , IN , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , NC , NH , NJ , NY , OH , PA , RI , SC , VA , VT , WI Canada: NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC
Wildlife value
bumblebees suck small amounts of nectar from the fragrant flowers