home

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis f. intermedia - Western Coralroot Orchid, brown-stemmed form

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Liliopsida - Order: Orchidales - Family: Orchidaceae

Corallorhiza maculata

Western Spotted Coralroot Orchid, Corallorhiza maculata, must be one of the most attractive of the Coralroot Orchids, and like the other kinds of Coraroot orchids that grow in America it is much more robust and easier to spot than its European cousin Corallorhiza trifida.

Description

By far the prettiest of the coralroot orchids that occur in North America, the Western Spotted Coralroot has delicate flowers with brownish sepals and white lips which are covered in deep pink spots.

Distribution

There are four different 'forms' of Western Spotted Coralroot growing in North America, and their ranges extend from as far north as British Columbia and east to Newfoundland, as far south as New Mexico and they also grow in California, Indiana, Arizona and Virginia. We have found and photographed two in the Rocky Mountains - forma immaculata and the one shown on this page. We have also been lucky enough to find Western Coralroot Orchid Corallorhiza mertensiana, another very attractive plant.

Spotted Coralroot Orchid

Habitat

The name coralroot refers to the roots of the Coralroot orchid plants, which are said to resemble coral - not that we have dug one up to prove the point. Coralroot orchids occur in a wide range of habitats from dark forest (where we found this one) to dune slacks and open tundra. Although they produce some chlorophyl (hence some plants are greenish, although many are purple-brown), these orchids are largely saprophytic, depending mainly for their food on the mycorrhizal fungi surrounding their roots. Coralroots are usually self-pollinating.-

Picture captions and credits

  1. Western Spotted Coralroot Orchid in high-altitude woodland in Rocky Mountain National Park
  2. The brown stems, petals and sepals are the key to identifying this particular form of Corallorhiza maculata

The specimens shown on this page were photographed in Rocky Mountain National Park on the Loch Vale Trail during mid-July.

Reference Sources

Philip E Keenan (1998) Wild Orchids Across North America, Timber Press Inc


Sue Parker's latest ebook is a revised and enlarged edition of Wild Orchids in The Burren. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...

Sue Parker's new ebook is a comprehensive and fully revised edition of her acclaimed field guide to the Wild Orchids of Wales. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...

Wild Orchids of the Algarve, how, when and where to find them

Sue Parker's 5-star acclaimed field guide to the Wild Orchids of the Algarve is now available as an ebook. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...


Please Help Us: If you have found this information interesting and useful, please consider helping to keep First Nature online by making a small donation towards the web hosting and internet costs.

Any donations over and above the essential running costs will help support the conservation work of Plantlife, the Rivers Trust and charitable botanic gardens - as do author royalties and publisher proceeds from books by Pat and Sue.

© 1995 - 2024 First Nature: a not-for-profit volunteer-run resource

Please help to keep this free resource online...

Terms of use - Privacy policy - Disable cookies - Links policy