RHH's photos with the keyword: mycotrope

This is another one of our native Coralroots, a genus of plants that are almost entirely without leaves or chlorophyll. They are referred to as mycotrophic, which means that live in a symbiotic relationship with a fungus and through the fungus obtain nourishment from decaying material in the soil. These plants often grow on the darkest forest floors where nothing else is growing except the trees which form the canopy above. There they grow among a litter of old branches and decaying logs, and the lighter colored forms stand out vividly in the dark. This species, known as the Western Coralroot, is extremely variable in color, the stems and flowers parts ranging from this deep reddish-purple to pale lavender, yellow and off-white. These plants, photographed in Washington Park, are some of the darkest colored examples I've seen. They are quite common and we see them this time of the year on many of our hikes, but you would have to come out our way to see them, since they grow only out west. You'd have to experience our weather, too. This was taken on a wet and windy day that made photography very difficult. More photos here: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/05/spring-in-w... nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/05/f...

The is the Western Coralroot, but a very pale form. We found these at Lake Elizabeth several years ago, but discovered this past summer that someone had destroyed the site to make a campsite. Only a few stems were left back among the trees. The Coralroots are leafless and without chlorophyll and depend for nourishment on a fungus (they are mycotrophic). This species is very variable in color as the link below shows. The species is found only in thee far west but is very common throughout our area. Many different color forms can be seen here: nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/c...

This is the same native orchid species I posted a few days ago, but a close-up of the flowers. The photo was taken on a rainy day in Larrabee State Park along the Interurban Trail. The Coralroots are mycotrophic plants, without leaves or chlorophyll and depending on a relationship with a fungus for nourishment. This is the showiest of our five species of Coralroots. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/05/s...

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...