Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata var. striata)

The striped Coralroot has the largest flowers and is the most beautiful of all the Coralroots.  There is a less showy variety, Vreeland's Striped Coralroot, Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii, found in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, but it is very rare even in those states and one of the native orchids I have not seen.

The showier variety, shown here, is found across Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland and as far south in the United States as California, Texas and New York.  The flowers are about 1.5 cm in size, the plants about 30 cm tall and they can have as many as 30 flowers per spike.

Like all the other Coralroots, this species is leafless and saprophytic, living off decaying matter in the soil and obtaining nourishment through a fungus.  There are several color forms, both a tan form and a yellowish form, but these are also quite rare.