Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Coralroot Orchid
Corallorhiza trifida
- Name also: Coral-root
- Family: Orchid Family – Orchidaceae
- Growing form: Perennial herb.
- Height: 10–25 cm (4–10 in.)
- Flower: Irregular (zygomorphic), small, yellowish-white. Tepals six. The lip small, lacking a spur. Stamens, style, and stigmas fused into a so called column. One fertile stamen and two stigmas. Inflorescence a lax spike.
- Leaves: Scale-like, non-chlorophyllous.
- Fruit: An oval capsule, seeds minute, dust-like.
- Habitat: Spruce swamps, damp, boggy forests.
- Flowering time: June–July.
The almost non-chlorophyllous coralroot orchid can be encountered in swamps and swampy forests. Like the ghost orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) and the bird’s nest orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) this species is in its nutrition completely dependent on a symbiotic fungus. It is, however, slightly more autotrophic. When the fruit ripen, the plant turns greenish and obtains the ability to photosynthesise.
Despite the vernacular name, the coralroot lacks roots. Instead it has a coral-like rootstock which contains fungal mycelium. This plant regularly produces capsules, because it is a self-pollinated species.
