Family: Orchidaceae,
Orchid
Genus: Corallorhiza
Description
General: perennial, saprophytic, lacking chlorophyll, 20-40
cm tall, the stems usually purplish to reddish-brown, but
often light yellow in albino forms (these always non-
spotted), from thick, branched, coral-like roots.
 Leaves: alternate, reduced to thin, semi-transparent
sheaths on the stem.
 Flowers: about 10-30 in a loose, narrow, elongated
cluster, the flower stalks rather slender, 1-2.5 mm long.
Sepals brownish-purple, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 8-10
mm long, 3-nerved, the side pair extending under the base
of the lip and with the column forming a blunt bulge about
1 mm long. Side petals brownish, slightly shorter than the
sepals, mostly 3-nerved, the lip white, usually strongly
spotted with wine-red (or white), with 2 prominent, almost
erect side lobes below midlength, the main central lobe
obovate, irregularly wavy-edged, up to 5 mm broad.
Reproductive column thick and stout, 3.5-4.5 mm long.
Flowering time: May-August.
 Fruits: capsules, hanging, oval, 1.5-2 cm long.
Distribution
Moist to fairly dry, shaded woods, in w. and c. parts of
MT. Also from B.C. to Nova Scotia, and to CA, NM, IN,
NC, and in C. America.
 Medicinal plant, see below.
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