User:Ssanchez31/Corallorhiza trifida

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Description of Species: Corallorhiza trifida is commonly referred to as early coralroot, pale coralroot, northern coralroot, and yellow coralroot. This coralroot species is native to North America, and Eurasia and has been reported in the United States, Canada, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, India, Nepal, Kashmir, Pakistan and just about every country within Europe (Corallorhiza Trifida [Coralloriza] - Flora Italiana, n.d.; Plants of the World Online | Kew Science, n.d.; Gleason & Cronquist, 1963).

C. trifida is known to be either partially, or fully mycoheterotrophic, meaning that the plant receives most or all of its nutrients from a fungal symbiont which is an ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete of the genus Tomentella found within the Thelephoracae lineage. C. trifida gains about 50% of its nitrogen content from its fungal symbiont, where the fungus receives about 70% of its carbon from the plant (Zimmer et al., 2008)

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Flowers:

Trifida is derived from the Latin word “split into three” in reference to the three lobed lip flower appearance. Leaves are absent and it produces 20 flowers in which color is great aid for identification which expresses a greenish to yellow coloration in addition to an unspotted white lip that stretches about 1cm across.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom

Plantae – plantes, Planta, Vegetal, plants

Division

Tracheophyta – vascular plants, tracheophytes

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Asparagales

Family

Orchidaceae – orchids

Genus

Corallorhiza Gagnebin – coralroot

Species

Corallorhiza trifida Châtel. – yellow coralroot

Distribution and Habitat:

Corallorhiza trifida has a broad circumboreal distribution, ranging from Eurasia to Canada and down into the northern parts of the United States including Alaska. Corallorhiza trifida tends to be found in elevations between 9,000-10,500 feet and grows in damp areas of pine and fir forests or partially hidden under shrub branches (Coleman, R. A., 2002).