Corallorhiza striata

striped coralroot
hooded coralroot
Corallorhiza striata in the Columbia River Gorge
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Corallorhiza
Species: C. striata
Binomial name
Corallorhiza striata
Lindl.
Synonyms[1]

Neottia striata (Lindl.) Kuntze

Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid known by the common names striped coralroot and hooded coralroot. This flowering plant is widespread across much of Canada and Mexico, as well as the northern and western United States.[1][2][3] It lives in the layer of decaying plant matter on the ground in forested regions, obtaining nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy.

Description

Like other coralroot orchids, it has reduced leaves and no chlorophyll and relies upon its parasitism of the fungi for sustenance. This coralroot has an erect stem which may be red, pink, purple, or yellow-green to almost white. It is mostly made up of an inflorescence of orchid flowers. Each flower is an open array of sepals and similar-looking petals which may be pink or yellowish and have darker pink or maroon stripes. Inside the flower is a column formed from the fusion of male and female parts, which may be spotted with purple or red. The fruit is a capsule one or two centimeters long.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Biota of North America Program, distribution map
  3. ↑ http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8695,8700,8703
  4. ↑ http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COST19

External links

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