Orchid Family – Orchidaceae
Actual flower size: 1/4 inch across
Plant Description: Spotted Coralroot is a reddish brown, perennial saprophyte, but can also be yellowish brown. The stem is 7 to 22 inches tall. It has a few clasping, purplish bracts in place of leaves. There are 10 to 30 flowers on the upper half of the stem.
Flower Description: The 5 upper tepals are very much alike, purplish and narrow and less than 1-inch long. They flare out and curve over the lower lip. The lower lip is white with distinctive magenta spots. It is shorter and broader than the others, has two very short lobes and is roughly toothed at the tip. The two upper petals may also have spots. There may or may not be a very short spur. The stamen and style are united to form a column which curves out over the lip. All-white specimens also occur.
Ecology: Spotted Coralroot grows in dense forests at low to middle elevations.
Notes:
- Spotted Coralroot is a saprophyte, feeding off decomposing forest litter and hence needs no chlorophyll or sunlight. It is dependant on a complex group of fungi present in the soil.
- It gets its name from the spreading, coral-like rhizomes.
Spotted Coralroot Photo Gallery
Photo information: #4702 was taken on July 21, 2002 on the Granit Mt. Trail, I-90 exit 47, Snoqualmie Pass; #9123 was taken on June 25, 2003 on the Deleo Wall Trail, Cougar Mt., I-405, Newcastle WA; #6992 and 6993 were taken on April 28, 2007 on trails in Washington Park, Hwy 20, Anacortes, WA; #1205 was taken on April 29, 2008 on trails in the Deception Pass area, Hwy 20, Anacortes, WA; #2047 was taken on June 24, 2009 on the Chiwaukum Creek Trail, US 2, Leavenworth, WA; #7747 and #7749 were taken on June 25, 2011 on trails in Washington Park, Hwy 20, Anacortes WA; #1395 and #1394 were taken on May 29, 2012 on the Goose Rock Trail, Deception Pass, Anacortes, WA.
Actual flower size: 1/4 inch across