General: perennial, saprophytic, lacking chlorophyll, 15-40 cm tall, the stems usually purplish- tinged, from thick, coral-like roots.
Leaves: alternate, reduced to thin, semi-transparent sheaths on the stem.
Flowers: 7-30 in a narrow cluster up to 2 dm tall, the flower stalks stout, 1-3 mm long. Tepals pink or yellowish-pink, with usually 3 narrow, lengthwise, purplish stripes. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, 10-17 mm long, 2-4 mm broad, the side pair about horizontal, not joined in front of the column, a spur lacking. Petals slightly shorter but broader than the sepals, narrowly oblong-obovate, 3-6 mm broad, the lip broadly oblong-elliptic, not lobed, 8-15 mm long, 6-8 mm broad, concave, with upturned and strongly thickened edges, the stripes deep-colored and merging at the tip. Reproductive column 4-7 mm long, deeply purple-spotted near the base.
May-August.
In deep coniferous to deciduous forest, in w. and c. parts of MT. Also from B.C. to Quebec, s. through most of w. U.S. to CA, UT, and NM, and to MI and n. Mexico.
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No edibility data
No medicinal data
