RHH's photos with the keyword: mertensiana

We saw a few native orchids on our recent backpacking excursion, this near our camp at Noisy Creek. The orchid is the Western or Merten's Coralroot. The Coralroots are leafless and without chlorophyll and live in a symbiotic relationship with a fungus (mycoheterotrophic).

The Western Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, or Merten's Coralroot, is one of thirteen species found in North America, and one of four found here in Washington State. Of the four it is my favorite because it comes in all different colors, color combinations and patterns, some of which can be seen in the album in which this photo is found.

Also known as Merten's Coralroot, this species is found only in the Pacific Northwest but often found in abundance there. Like all the Coralroots it is leafless and without chlorophyll, often growing on dark forest floors. These were photographed on Fidalgo Island in the San Juan's while I was leading a group from the local orchid society to see some of the native orchids there. They were just beginning to bloom and are early like everything else this year. The place where these were photographed has only this dark purple form of the species and is the only place we ever found this form. The species comes in a rainbow of colors, white, pink, yellow, tan, but only there in this beautiful red-purple.

Taken while hiking with brother Tim near Austin Pass in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, these are the needles, I believe, of a Mountain Hemlock.

This is an example of the pale-stemmed form of the Western or Merten's Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, but it would take many photos to show the endless color variation in this species. The stems range from dark purple, dark pink, and brown through pale pink, yellow, pale yellow, tan, off-white and white, and the lips and marking also vary. Some of these variations can be seen in the photos on the link below. The plant is mycoheterotrophic depending entirely for its nourishment on a soil fungus and is, therefore, without leaves or chlorophyll, and is one of four Coralroots here in the state of Washington, all of them leafless and without chlorophyll.

Here's another color form of the plant I last posted, a pale pink stem instead of yellow and brownish flowers with heavier purple markings on the lip. It is fun finding these every year and seeing what new color forms we can find. They are leafless and without chlorophyll and so the one color that cannot be found is green. As noted before, these are only stems with flowers, so there are no leaves either. The are 12-18 inches tall and grow on forest floors where there is often little or no light, which also makes photography difficult.

Like all the Coralroots, the Western Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, is mycoheterotrophic, depending on a complex relationship with a soil fungus for its nourishment. It is without chlorophyll and without leaves and comes in a rainbow or colors, from reddish-purple to pink to off-white, tan and yellow and the flowers, too, are endlessly variable in color and spotting or lack thereof. This beautiful yellow was photographed on Whidbey Island earlier this year and the link below shows many other color forms photographed at the same time and later in the spring.

It's a bit confusing but we have both the Western Spotted Coralroot and the Western Coralroot here. This is the Western Coralroot or Merten's Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, another mycoheterotrophic plant, without chlorophyll and without leaves. It was photographed at Goat Mountain in the North Cascades while hiking there with friends from Germany whom I took on an extended orchid hunting tour.

Photographed along the Snowbird Pass trail in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, this alpine Heather, Cassiope mertensiana, is one of the most beautiful wildflowers on the tundra.

The Western Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, is well named since it is found only in the far western United States and Canada and because its "roots" do look like a mass of coral when dug up. It is mycotrophic, living off decaying matter in the soil through a relationship with a fungus and is leafless and without chlorophyll. It is always a delight to find since it comes in an endless variety of colors, as the photos below show. The color form shown above is more or less typical, but many other color forms are shown below at the link I've posted. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/color-forms-of-western-coralroot.html

This is the pale form of the Western Coralroot photographed on a recent hike up Goat Mountain in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. I had gone to see another Coralroot, Corallorhiza trifida, the Early Coralroot, but knew that these were blooming near the beginning of the trail at a lower elevation and stopped to photograph them also. Note: we are still traveling and hiking today so my commenting will be delayed. Eleven states and 6000 miles in the past three weeks.

These pictures are all from our recent field trip with the Washington Native Orchid Society. We found hundreds of these Coralroots at a location near Deception Pass in the San Juan Islands.

Another batch of pictures from our recent hike with the Washington Native Orchid Society. This is a light colored form of the leafless, saprophytic orchid plant previously posted.

In Explore June 15, 2009, #163. This photo was also taken on a recent WNOS field trip. This orchid as before noted is leafless and saprophytic.

This is a green and white form of the species in the previous photo. This was photographed in the North Cascades on the Thunder Creek Trail south of Diablo Lake.

The Western Coralroot is another species in the genus Corallorhiza (I posted a picture of another species yesterday). This species is in bloom now in our area, finished at lower elevations but just starting to bloom in the mountains. These were photographed on Hoypus Hill on the north end of Whidbey Island near Cornet Bay. The Coralroots are leafless and without chlorophyll and get their nourishment from decaying matter in the soil. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/07/c...

This is another one of our native Coralroots, a genus of plants that are almost entirely without leaves or chlorophyll. They are referred to as mycotrophic, which means that live in a symbiotic relationship with a fungus and through the fungus obtain nourishment from decaying material in the soil. These plants often grow on the darkest forest floors where nothing else is growing except the trees which form the canopy above. There they grow among a litter of old branches and decaying logs, and the lighter colored forms stand out vividly in the dark. This species, known as the Western Coralroot, is extremely variable in color, the stems and flowers parts ranging from this deep reddish-purple to pale lavender, yellow and off-white. These plants, photographed in Washington Park, are some of the darkest colored examples I've seen. They are quite common and we see them this time of the year on many of our hikes, but you would have to come out our way to see them, since they grow only out west. You'd have to experience our weather, too. This was taken on a wet and windy day that made photography very difficult. More photos here: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/05/spring-in-w... nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/05/f...

The is the Western Coralroot, but a very pale form. We found these at Lake Elizabeth several years ago, but discovered this past summer that someone had destroyed the site to make a campsite. Only a few stems were left back among the trees. The Coralroots are leafless and without chlorophyll and depend for nourishment on a fungus (they are mycotrophic). This species is very variable in color as the link below shows. The species is found only in thee far west but is very common throughout our area. Many different color forms can be seen here: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/c...