RHH's photos with the keyword: saprophyte

Monotropa hypopithys is a saprophyte. It has no chlorophyll and lives off the roots of other plants.

This was photographed on Whidbey Island near Deception Pass in the San Juan Islands. The Coralroots are saprophytes, leafless and without chlorophyll, relying on a symbiotic relation with a fungus for their sustenance. Because of this relationship they are impossible to cultivate.

The Phantom Orchid is certainly the most unusual of our native orchids. It is the only North American species from the genus Cephalanthera, but even among the other species of that genus it is unique. It is saprophytic, living off decaying material in the soil, and completely without chlorophyll. Stem, leaves and flowers are bone white, with only a spot of yellow on the lips of the flowers. The leaves are very small and the plant is mostly stem and flowers, growing as tall as 60 cm with flowers that are quite large, about 3 cm. All this adds us to quite show when the plants are in flower. Phantom Orchids grow on the forest floor, often in very open, but heavily shaded and dark areas, and the white plants make a dramatic show that cannot be missed, and that has earned this species its common name. For more pictures and information on this unusual plant see: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/07/p...

This was phgotographed at the Au Sable Institute near Coupeville on Whidbey Island while on a camping trip with a group of young people. We were camped at Fort Ebey and while on a excursion to Port Townsend and Fort Worden, across the Sound, I made a quick side trip to see what was blooming at the Institute. The Corallorhizas are all leafless plants without chlorophyll that live off decaying material in the soil. Washington has a five diffferent species, often found in dark, dry areas in the forests. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2011/06/c...

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.

Another of the native orchids that grows at Goose Rock, this one photographed along the trail to the top. There were a lot of these, but most of them just a stem or two. This large clump was one of the best examples we've seen. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/06/whidbey-isl...

Another of the orchids from our Greenwater hikes. This is the Western Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana, and the pale form of that species. It is aptly named the Western Coralroot since it is only found west of the Rocky Mountains. It is leafless and without chlorophyll but variable in color, the stems ranging from grayish-white though yellow, tan, brown, pink and reddish-purple, and the flowers also coming in a range of colors and color combinations. The link below shows many of these different color forms and the picture one of the darkest forms. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/c...

These are not the same saprophytes I posted a day or two ago. Those were Pinesap, these are Pine-drops, Pterospora andromeda. Like the others, however, they are nearly leafless and without chlorophyll and both belong to the heather family. The flowers are not yet opened, but the picture below shows some of the opened flowers. The photo is my wife's taken along a forest service road in the Cascades north of Mount Rainier. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/near-greenw...