Day 211: Following on the heels of Corallorhiza trifida, C. maculata is making an appearance in the lowland forests. Two days ago, I saw a newly emerged (unopen) specimen in a friend's woods. Yesterday, three surprised me in Pack Forest where I have never found them before.
The Corallorhizas are mycoheterotrophic species, which is to say that they lack chlorophyll and rely on the presence of specific ectomycorrhiza (fungi) which allow them to uptake nutrients from the soil. Not all of these associations have been discovered, but we do know that C. maculata is dependent on mycorrhiza of the genus Russula. The presence of Russulas in the autumn do not guarantee that an area will host Corallorhiza maculata, but if maculata is present in the spring, you can rest assured that Russulas will be evident later in the year at the same site.
There is a lesson in this, particularly for mushroom hunters: everything holds hands with something else in Nature. As strange as it may sound, over-picking of a mushroom species could lead to the extirpation or extinction of an Orchid. That's serious food for thought.
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