Western Spotted Coralroot

Found and photographed this in Deception Pass State Park last spring on a school camping trip. It reminds me of spring and of how eager I am to be out hiking again, but it is not a perfect picture. I was struggling with low light, a strong breeze and lenses that were fogging when I took the picture.

The Western Spotted Coralroot is Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis, and is distinguished from the more common form by the rounded lip. It is leafless and without chlorophyll and obtains its nutrients from rotting material in the soil via a symbiotic relation with a fungus.