Wild Beautiful Orchid

by Bea
(Grand Forks, B.C.)

I came across this gorgeous flower, and I'm pretty sure it's an orchid of some type. There were several growing in a group, three in a group together, with two single ones a little ways off. They are growing right alongside the road, and probably are at risk from mowing or ditch cleaning - hopefully the road maintenance budget won't go that far this year!

Do you know what they are exactly? I'm so thrilled that there are still so many gorgeous wildflowers in our area.


Drought Smart Plants reply:

These are indeed an orchid - they are Corallorizha, the coral root orchid, and this one appears to be an extremely dark coloured representative of this species, most likely Corallorizha striata. They are sapphophytic, and live off leaf litter and other organic matter in the soil. The roots (according to Plants of Northern British Columbia by Mackinnon, Pojar and Coupe) resemble coral, hence the botanical name, which means 'coral like roots'. It's a bit of a misnomer, as these are not actually roots but rhizomes.

See the page on Hardy Orchids and also this site with some pictures of Wildflowers of Saskatchewan.

Jacki