A Weird Coralroot Orchid Grows in Austin
Thanks to AboutOrchids reader Margaret Barnett for these fascinating photos of a wild, native orchid growing in Austin, Texas. This may look like bright yellow asparagus, but it’s an orchid. Corallorhiza orchids are commonly called Coralroots due their thick, coral-shaped rhizomes. This specimen lives beneath an oak tree, hidden underground, until its strange flowers spring from the soil.
Coralroots are leafless, and don’t photosynthesize. Instead, they take nutrients from fungi in the ground, a relationship called myco-heterotrophy. This plant is an unusual yellow color variety. Its springtime bloom may belong to Corallorhiza wisteriana, the Spring Coralroot, or Corallorhiza striata, the Striped Coralroot. There are two other Coralroots native to Texas, but Corallorhiza maculata, the Spotted Coralroot, blooms in summer, and Corallorhiza odontorhiza, the Autumn Coralroot, in autumn. Whichever it is, it’s a marvelous reminder that the weird and wonderful orchid world is full of surprises. Photos courtesy of Margaret Barnett.
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