Penny Perspectives - Corallorhiza Trifida, Northern Coralroot

Day 193: One of the most rare species of Coralroot to be found in Mount Rainier National Park, Corallorhiza trifida is elusive not only for its scarcity, but for its size and colour. As you can see in this Penny Perspective, its greenish flowers are quite tiny, making it easy to miss in the shady locations it prefers. It appears in the spring, generally before the more common Coralroots. The Corallorhizas are partial mycoheterotrophs, i.e., they only exist where certain fungi are present in the soil. In years when those fungi are abundant, the plants emerge in greater numbers.