Two Orchids at Baker Lake

 

In July we went on an overnight backpacking trip with our oldest daughter to Baker Lake in western Washington.  It was a very wet trip and was not meant to be an orchid-hunting trip but we did find two orchids, Corallorhiza mertensiana, the Western Coralroot, shown above and below, and Neottia cordata var. nephrophylla, the Western Heart-leaved Twayblade, shown at bottom.

Corallorhiza trifida

The Early Coralroot, Corallorhiza trifida, is well-named.  At lower elevations it is the earliest of the Coralroots to bloom, but at the location we visit each year it is growing at a very high elevation and though blooming soon after snowmelt, is still quite late in the season.  It is a rather inconspicuous species, standing only six to eight inches (15-20 cm) tall and a pale yellow-green color with flowers the same color.

June 18

(North Cascades)

June 25

(North Cascades)

Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii

Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii, Vreeland's Striped Coralroot, is a small-flowered variety of the more common variety striata.  In fact, its flowers are not only smaller but they are not as brightly colored - usually a tan or light yellow though with the same striping on the lip and other flowers segments.  In our experience it is not very easy to tell the two varieties apart as they seem to shade into each other, but we have found what we are sure is this variety in several locations in the Columbia River gorge.

June 12

June 23

Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata fma. rubra

This is the red-stemmed form of the Spotted Coralroot, Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata fma. rubra.  The stems in this variety can be a pinkish tan, red, yellow or brown and some of these color forms are named, but these are a dark reddish-pink or reddish-purple.  It has very tiny flowers and in the locations where we find it is often the only color form to be found.

Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata fma. aurea

The Spotted Coralroot, Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata is the later blooming variety of two in our area.  It is distinguished not only by its later bloom season but by the side lobes of the lip which are more or less parallel rather than being rounded.  Like many of the Coralroots it is variable in color and this is a yellow-stemmed variety which is unnamed but which I've chosen to call Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata fma. aurea.  We have only ever found it in one location where it grows in abundance.

 June 12

June 23

Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis fma. punicea

I've posted a number of different color forms of the Western Spotted Coralroot both named and unnamed and here is one more, the red-stemmed form, Corallorhiza macualta var. occidentalis fma. punicea.  Personally, I have doubts about naming these color forms since there are so many and the variations in color and spotting seemingly endless, but these fit the description of the red-stemmed form.

May 31