Corallorhiza mertensiana

Western coralroot, Western Coralroot

Family: Orchidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Western coralroot is a California native orchid found in northwestern California (excluding North Coast Ranges Interior) in shaded to open mixed-evergreen and conifer forests at elevations below 2,200 meters. Flowering from May to July, this delicate orchid produces deep pink to red flowers with yellow or dark red veins, featuring a distinctive lip with two acute lateral lobes and irregularly toothed edges. Growing 15 to 45 centimeters tall with generally reddish stems, it emerges from decomposing leaf litter in forest understories. Its flowers feature sepals 7 to 10 millimeters long, with lateral petals in deep pink to red and a column that is yellowish with a purple base. The plant produces fruits 15 to 25 millimeters long, reflecting its unique coral-like growth pattern characteristic of coralroot orchids.

Habitat: Shaded to open mixed-evergreen or conifer forest, in decomposing leaf litter

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 2200 m

Bioregions: NW (exc NCoRI)

California counties: Trinity, Del Norte, Siskiyou, El Dorado, Lake, Mendocino, Butte, Humboldt, Tehama, Sonoma

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.