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Please,
never pick
or attempt to transplant |
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Also see White Orchids, Calypso bulbosa, Epipactis gigantea, Cypripedium calceolus, and Green Orchids. |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) Blooming information withheld to protect the Orchids. These delicate Orchids grow on eight to twenty inch tall showy maroon stalks, but yellow albino pants (pictured below) are not unusual. Corallorhiza maculata prefers shady Aspen and Conifer forests where their coral-resembling roots feed off the forest floor debris and roots of other plants: they are thus both saprophytic and parasitic. Flowers are variably spotted, one-half inch high, and numerous. Plants may occur with just one or two stalks or dozens, and the stalks remain upright and obvious long after the flowers are gone. Where you find one plant, you will almost certainly find many more. The Corallorhiza genus was named by Jean Chatelain, probably in the late 1700s. In 1817 Constantine Rafinesque named this species which was collected from "shady woods of Long Island, near Flatbush, Flushing, Oyster-Bay, etc." by an unidentified collector. (Quotation from Rafinesque in Intermountain Flora.) "Corallorhiza" is Greek for "coral root" and "maculata" is Latin for "spotted". |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) Unfolding flower buds and drooping seed pods. |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) Albino Corallorhiza maculata are common, but always startlingly attractive. |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) This plant shows characteristics of the albino and normal plant. |
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Corallorhiza
maculata
(Spotted Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) |
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Corallorhiza striata
(Striped Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) Blooming information withheld to protect the Orchids. This and the above Orchid look very similar as they emerge from the ground but once the flowers unfold, the difference is clear: stripes versus spots. C. striata is also a bit shorter plant than C. maculata; its sheaths along the lower part of the stem are more closely spaced; and the flowers not only differ in having stripes versus spots, but in several other prominent ways: C. striata flowers are about 1 1/2 times the size of the flowers of C. maculata; the flowers of striata tend to be more spherical in overall shape; the lip of the flowers of striata is entire, that of C. maculata is often wavy edged and has two prominent lateral lobes near its base; and, of course, there is a significant difference in color: overall striata has a blue/yellow cast to it and maculata has a pink/white/yellow cast to it. Both plants enjoy open Spruce/Pine/Aspen forests where they can be fairly common. Once you have spotted one plant, stand still, look around, and you will almost certainly find more. And, of course, appreciate the plants where you find them. They will die if you try to transplant them. |
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Corallorhiza striata
(Striped Coralroot) Orchidaceae (Orchid Family) Blooming information withheld to protect the Orchids. |
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