Corallorhiza Trifida, Northern Coralroot

Day 222: An unexpected call took me out in the field with my botany partner Joe yesterday. He'd found three more stems of Corallorhiza trifida, the plant I had failed to find last week. Trifida is a member of the Orchid family, and is one of our favourites. While it is not scarce enough to be considered rare, it is definitely uncommon. We know it from only three locations in Mount Rainier National Park, all with the same soil regime, and likely associated with the same mycorrhizal component. The plant is a partial mycoheterotroph. It does contain chlorophyll, and therefore is capable of independent photosynthesis. The role of the fungus in its life cycle is not clearly understood, but given the soil type and its associate plants, it seems likely that the fungus is acting to release some nutrient vital to C. trifida's survival. We have noted that in years when mycorrhizal activity is low due to drought or other factors, fewer of these orchids appear. Others with a wider range of mycoheterotrophic partners are less affected. Oh, for another twenty years to live, and a team of researchers at hand!