Wildflowers Found at Our Pleasant Hill Home

Spotted Coralroot

Corallorrhiza maculata - Locally common, early summer, perennial, 7-22 in. Stem erect, red to yellow-brown. Leaves bract-like wrapped on stem. Flowers on upper stem. Five upper flower petals similar color to stem ; lower petals much larger, white, with 4-8 large red to purple spots. Inside flower is a curved column with pollen and nectar beneath. Lacking spur under base of lower petal. Grows in deep forest duff below timberline. Weight of an insect on lower petal exposes pollen and sticky stigma surface to receive pollen from other flowers. Bernice found ours in our big circle among the Rhodies.