Monotropa Uniflora, Indian Pipe

Day 290: Monotropa uniflora is one of my favourite mycoheterotrophic plants. Okay, that's a hard call to make since I'm generally fascinated by all mycoheterotrophs, but there are a few which rise straight to the top of the list. Indian Pipe is one, for all of it being fairly common in PNW forests. It is relatively non-specific in its choice of fungal partner, growing where the mycorrhizae of several different Russula species occur. Other mycoheterotrophs are more selective, although that specificity does not necessarily mean that they are more rare; the rarity depends on the fungal associate, although conversely, an abundance of the fungus does not necessarily guarantee a similar abundance of the mycoheterotrophic plant. It's kinda like that old saying from the Depression era, "If we had ham, we'd have ham and eggs, if we had eggs." Or this one: "It takes two to tango."

Chasing Phantoms

Day 264: First, let me correct the dates I gave previously. Until recently, Cephalanthera austiniae (Phantom Orchid) had only been seen in Mount Rainier National Park on two occasions, both times as a single specimen. The first occurrence was in 1892, the second in 2005...a gap of 113 years. Last week, I found two with my botany partner Joe Dreimiller. Yesterday, I did a wider survey alone and discovered seven specimens, one of which had been cropped of all but its lowest blossom by a deer. The tallest of the plants was roughly 16", the shortest about 8". I took many photographs and GPSed the three locations in which they occurred, and further exploration up the drainage revealed what to my eyes looked like ideal habitat, but no more orchids. Still, seven individuals is not a bad score for a "rare and endangered" species.

Spotted from a distance

Like many other members of the Orchidaceae, Cephalanthera is a mycoheterotroph, i.e., it relies on the cooperation of a specific fungal component in the soil in order to grow and flower. Unlike some other orchids which are capable of photosynthesis on their own because they are possessed of some chlorophyll (partial mycoheterotrophs), the Phantom is an obligate mycoheterotroph, which is to say that it cannot exist without its mycorrhizal partner. Consequently, its survival depends on its ability to lay dormant for many years, waiting for the proper fungus to become active. That's why it is so rare.

Can you find all four?

Over the last five years or so, I have noticed a dramatic rise in the bloom rate of a number of mycoheterotrophic species in the Park. They have long been of special interest to me. I suspect this increase may have its origins in the milder, wetter winters we've experienced over the same period of time, as well as the warm springs which have followed them. Many fungi have been appearing in growing numbers as well. The wet weeks of early June and warm conditions later in the month set the stage for chasing Phantoms, and seems to be bringing out other mycoheterotrophs as well (notably Indian Pipe, which is beginning to erupt). However, the census of Corallorhiza maculata is down, although the count C. trifida was up substantially. Clearly, there is a fungal backstory here which I don't fully understand.

Joe and Sharon knew exactly what I meant when I shot a cryptic one-word post to Facebook last night: "Seven." Joe is recovering from shoulder surgery done only a few days ago and will be out of commission for the rest of the season. At least he got to see two.

Allotropa Virgata, Candystick

Day 247: Arguably the showiest of Mount Rainier National Park's mycoheterotrophic species, Allotropa virgata will make any hiker stop in their tracks for a photo. The "canes" may rise as much as 20 inches above the forest floor, and although they're usually seen as single specimens, they do form colonies. Like other obligate mycoheterotrophs, Allotropa virgata is entirely dependent on a mycorrhizal component (Tricholoma magnivelare) which facilitates the plant's uptake of nutrients from the soil. Where the fungus is absent, Candystick will not occur.

In Nature, everything holds hands, a point which becomes more obvious when you study any tightly linked relationship like mycoheterotrophy. As I learn more about these species, a question arises in my mind about the harvesting of edible wild mushrooms. Like any Hobbit worth the name, I do enjoy a meal of chanterelles, morels or boletes, and if I had been possessed of the skills necessary to make a 105% identification of Tricholoma magnivelare, I'd probably have picked the "American matsutake" as well. Fortunately, those skills are not in my repertoire, or I might have been murdering dozens or hundreds of Candysticks by my gluttony. It's a sobering thought.

Indian Pipe, Monotropa Uniflora

Day 268: Without a doubt, this year has been an exceptional one for botanizing. In the process of scouting out uncommon mycoheterotrophs and orchids earlier in the season, I discovered a number of colonies of Indian Pipe just starting to emerge through the forest duff, little buttons of white among the fall of needles and twigs. I've been watching them closely for six weeks or more, waiting for their ghostly pale "shepherd's crook" heads to lift and open. A solitary flower hides inside each shroud, a yellow eye, its glance downcast in demure grace.

Also called "Corpse Plant," Monotropa uniflora is not a common species, but neither is it rare. What is rare, however, is to see more than a few in any given area. Here, within the space of a few acres of hillside, there are dozens of colonies...dozens, perhaps even a hundred or more clusters have popped up, most showing 20-30 stems in a grouping. I have never seen them so lush! Is their abundance due to an increase in the fungal cooperator in this mycoheterotrophic relationship? I believe that may be a substantial contributing factor, based on my observation of other mycoheterotrophic species this year.

Candystick, Allotropa Virgata

Day 244: Without a shadow of doubt, Candystick (Allotropa virgata) is one of the most unusual plants you will find in Pacific Northwestern forests. This mycoheterotrophic species resembles nothing quite so much as a stick of peppermint candy with its red and white stripes, and like many of Mount Rainier National Park's other mycoheterotrophs, it is appearing in abundance this year, and in places where this observer has not previously seen it. These specimens were photographed in the Longmire Stewardship Campground on June 13, 2015. Other clusters of a dozen or more spikes, some a foot tall or more, were noted within the space of approximately one acre.

Pinesap, Monotropa Hypopitys

Day 238: If you put forth the hypothesis that this is hypopitys, you'd be right, but you'd probably never get your tongue unwound. For once, you're safer if you call it by its common name, Pinesap, another of those marvelous mycoheterotrophs and fairly common in Mount Rainier National Park. Its cousin Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) is white, and occurs far less frequently in our forests. Formerly referred to as "saprophytes" (a misnomer you will still see in field guides), the Monotropas are in fact one half of a symbiotic relationship with a fungus. This specimen was observed along Westside Road along with an abundance of other mycoheterotrophic species, and in that respect, I do have a hypothesis: that our mild winter has allowed the mycorrhizae associated with these curious plants to proliferate. That's why we're seeing so many of them this summer.

Penny Perspectives - Western Coralroot

Day 230: Yet another of western Washington's native Orchids, Western Coralroot (Corallorhiza mertensiana) is the most frequently seen of the four Coralroots known to occur in Mount Rainier National Park. Its petals are marked with red or magenta stripes, and the lower petal has a spur at the base, unlike either C. maculata or C. striata. Stems may reach as much as 18 inches in height. The plant is an obligate mycoheterotroph, i.e., it has no leaves and contains no chlorophyll, and relies on a fungus to break down soil into usable nutrients. A flower dainty enough to grace a faerie's evening dress as this "Penny Perspective" demonstrates, Western Coralroot prefers the shady, "sun-fleck" forest which constitutes much of the Park's lower elevations.