More Native Colorado Orchids
It’s always a pleasure to see orchids growing happily in the wild. During a recent family hike in Colorado’s San Juan National Forest, we spotted a couple of native orchid varieties. The first three rows of photos show the charming Goodyera oblongifolia, or Western Rattlesnake Plaintain. It’s named for its reticulated leaves which resemble snakeskin. Among these small patches of plants, the patterns were most noticeable on the newest leaves. A prominent white stripe remained in the middle of the older leaves. These orchids were finishing up their blooms, with a few small, white flowers at the tops of their spikes. Lots of seedpods were forming below.
The final row of photos shows seedpods from what was probably a Coralroot, or Corallorhiza orchid. Coralroots are strange plants which have no leaves, but instead feed off fungi in the ground. They only appear above ground when they flower and fruit. My guess is that these plants are one of two species that are native to the area, either the Striped Coral Root, Corallorhiza striata, or the Spotted Coral Root, Corallorhiza maculata. Since the flowers were gone by late summer, it’s tough to distinguish them from only their red seedpods. To see more native Colorado species, check out my earlier post with photos of the Fairy Slipper Orchid and Bog Orchid.
Explore posts in the same categories: Cool Growers, Orchids in the Wild, Photos
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