WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

Like pencils stuck in the ground, clusters of the 4–25-inch tall stems sprout through the leaf litter in wooded areas. A loose spike (raceme) of 5–35 small flowers covers the upper half of the stem. Red forms are common but yellow ones also occur. Note the arching upper petals and the red dots and spur-like lobes on the lower petal. Lacking chlorophyll, coralroots depend on root fungi to absorb nutrients from decomposing organic material.

FLOWERS: May–August. 3 spreading, petal-like sepals, reddish, tan, or yellowish 3/16–5/8-inch long (5–15 mm), curving around the petals; 2 arching upper petals and one white lower petal (lip) with red dots and 2 pointed , spur-like basal lobes at the base.

LEAVES: None.

HABITAT: Dry to moist soils and leaf litter in moderate shade; mixed conifer-aspen forests.

ELEVATION: 7,000–10,000 feet.

RANGE: Western and northeastern U. S.; Canada.

SIMILAR SPECIES: 5 coralroot orchids grow in NM in much the same range. Striped Coralroot, C. striata, has an unlobed white lip with reddish-purple lines. The early blooming Spring Coralroot, C. wisteriana, has a spotted lip without basal lobes.

NM COUNTIES: Mountains of NM in mid- to high-elevation habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Colfax, Grant, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Mora, Otero, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Union, Valencia.