RHH's photos with the keyword: pallida

This is an example of the pale-stemmed form of the Western or Merten's Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, but it would take many photos to show the endless color variation in this species. The stems range from dark purple, dark pink, and brown through pale pink, yellow, pale yellow, tan, off-white and white, and the lips and marking also vary. Some of these variations can be seen in the photos on the link below. The plant is mycoheterotrophic depending entirely for its nourishment on a soil fungus and is, therefore, without leaves or chlorophyll, and is one of four Coralroots here in the state of Washington, all of them leafless and without chlorophyll.

This is the pale form of the Western Coralroot photographed on a recent hike up Goat Mountain in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. I had gone to see another Coralroot, Corallorhiza trifida, the Early Coralroot, but knew that these were blooming near the beginning of the trail at a lower elevation and stopped to photograph them also. Note: we are still traveling and hiking today so my commenting will be delayed. Eleven states and 6000 miles in the past three weeks.

Another batch of pictures from our recent hike with the Washington Native Orchid Society. This is a light colored form of the leafless, saprophytic orchid plant previously posted.

This was purchased as Stenia calceolaris but proved on blooming to have been wrongly identified. Both that species and this are found in Ecuador, but this has a much wider distribution and is found also in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. And while I would have preferred what I ordered, am happy enough with this species and its attractive flowers. The plant grows to 12 cm and produces a fan of leaves that are rather attractive in their own right. The flowers are 6 cm, huge for the size of the plant, and are produced singly on semi-pendant spikes. The plant is considered warm to hot growing but it does fine for me in cool to intermediate conditions and is grown in live sphagnum in a net pot (the decorative pot is only for photos). orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/07/stenia-pallida.html

Posted another shot of this not long ago. Here's a side view of the flowers. Quite common throughout Central and South America. More information and photos here: orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/07/stenia-pallida.html

I've posted several photos of this odd species from Ecuador, but thought I would post one more close-up of the lip and column. orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2012/07/stenia-pallida.html