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Coralroot orchid
(Corallorhiza trifida )
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Coralroot orchid © Andrew Gagg/Plantlife
Despite its name, this orchid doesn't have roots in the truest sense of the word.
Instead it gets energy and nutrients via fungi that live in a lumpy mass at the base of its stem. This has a very coral-like appearance, hence the name.
While it has a little chlorophyll in its stem - allowing some limited photsynthesis when in bloom - it is dependant on the fungi to survive. Without it, it would die.
Habitat
Boggy and shady woods, quarries and disused railway lines, dune slacks.
Best time to see
When it flowers June-July.
County flower of Fife.