Rare and beautiful - Crested Coralroot (Hexalectris spicata)

[prem]

While vouchered specimens of this species have been found in many counties in the state of Florida, this species is rarely seen, as it blends in quite well with the surrounding forest, making it difficult to see until you are quite close. Then, the true beauty of these flowers is revealed. Each is a little over an inch wide and scented pleasingly of baby powder. I would consider this perhaps the second- or third-most attractive terrestrial orchid in the state of Florida (first is Cleistes bifaria, the Rosebud Orchid, which holds a special place in my heart as one of my first-observed native orchids).

The plants themselves bear no leaves, instead living in a mycotrophic relationship with fungi hosted (and consumed) in the coral-like roots. These fungi, in turn, send out mycelia throughout the soil and infect the roots of other plants, forming a network of nutrients funneled from one plant to another in a complex "nutrient highway" beneath the forest floor. While many orchids after the earliest seedling stage will bear leaves and begin to perform some of their own nutrient manufacture through photosynthesis, they never lose their fungal relationship entirely. The coralroots never grow beyond this earliest relationship, relying their entire lives on nutrients gathered from their fungi. Because of this delicate relationship, coralroots will die in short order if transplanted to another site.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi, f22, 1/200s, 580 EX II flash with off-shoe cable shot through a diffuser.



---Prem

[Bloomin_Aussie]

What a beautiful plant. We have several saprophytic species here in Australia. I am informed that there is currently research being done on these species and the results may shed some light on possibilities of growing them in cultivation.

[Tindomul]

Wow, really nice. Thanks for sharing. Recently a native coralroot has been found growing on Long Island NY.

[Royal]

This one is in East Texas too. What kind of habitat does this one like? Indicator species?

[SP2340]

Wow, beautiful flower! Thank you for the excellent info too.

[cb977]

Thanks for the lesson...and the chance to see such a little beauty!

[camille1585]

Gorgeous! The blooms are so much larger and prettier than the coralroot species found over here. I'm surprised that it's called Hexalectris, I was under the impression that all coral root orchids went by the genus name Corallorhiza.

[prem]

Many of those orchids are indeed under the genus Corallorhiza...in fact, two Corallorhiza species grow in Florida. Hexalectris is a completely different genus in a completely different subtribe than Corallorhiza (Bletiinae vs. Corallorhizinae, respectively).

---Prem

[greenbean]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Gorgeous! The blooms are so much larger and prettier than the coralroot species found over here. I'm surprised that it's called Hexalectris, I was under the impression that all coral root orchids went by the genus name Corallorhiza.

Same here, Camille. We have Corallorhiza in the Pacific Northwest. But coral root is a common name, and you know how common names are. They can be applied to just about anything with similarities to other plants. Coralroot simply refers to the coral-like roots of saprophytic orchids, of which Corallorhiza is a member. But like you, I hadn't heard of another genus referred to as "coral root".

Great photography, Prem! Nice to see some saprophytes other than the ones in my neck of the woods. They're one of my favorite groups of plants.

[Bloomin_Aussie]

Yes, I noticed you seemed like a bit of a photographer putting the shot details in your post. Sorry bit of a tangent... What lens did you use? The exif reads 105mm. Is that the Sigma?

Well you did a good job of the lighting. I find an off-shoe flash and diffuser makes a world of difference. Look forward to seeing more