Corallorrhiza maculata

[ronaldhanko]

We were out hiking yesterday and found this native orchid, but only two plants:

Spotted Coralroot (Corallorrhiza maculata) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[kinknstein]

Very kool, have never heard of them before but they are very pretty.

[camille1585]

Nice find! It' so much prettier than the Corallorrhiza orchids we find over here (Corallorhiza trifida). Ours are greenish yellow.

[Tindomul]

Gorgeous!!!!

[RosieC]

Very pretty, your photo is stunning

[tuvoc]

Awesome little gem.

Kim

[Ross]

Around here in Lakes States, it's very uncommon to find more than one or two in same area. Very nice spike - not ruined by insects.

[ronaldhanko]

Nice to know that, Ross. I wondered why we saw so few. In a week o so we're going to go look for the Ozette Coralroot, a variety of this that is green with no spots. It's very rare, grows only in a few spots around Clallam and Island counties.

[Royal]

Nice find Ron! Thanks for sharing with us.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by kinknstein

Very kool, have never heard of them before but they are very pretty.

Here're most likely the reasons why you've never heard of them.

1. They're not grown commercially (for reasons you'll read later on...).

2. They're not always talked about.

3. Some species either do not depend largely on chlorophyll for food production or have no chlorophyll at all. Rather Corallorhizza forms a strong relationship with mycorrhizal fungi (fungus that form a symbiotic relationship with plants amongst their roots).

4. Attempts at growing them in-vitro successfully has proved a bit challenging.

If you see one in nature, it's best to admire them with a nice photograph.