''Corallorhiza'', the coralroot, is a genus of flowering plants in the
orchid family. Except for the
circumboreal
The Circumboreal Region in phytogeography is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan.
It is the largest floristic region in t ...
''C. trifida'', the genus is restricted to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
(including
Mexico,
Central America and the
West Indies).
Most species are putatively
parasitic, relying entirely upon
mycorrhiza
A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...
l
fungi within their
coral-shaped
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
s for sustenance. Because of this dependence on
myco-heterotrophy, they have never been successfully cultivated. Most species are leafless and rootless. Most species produce little or no
chlorophyll
Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...
, and do not utilize
photosynthesis. An exception is the yellowish green species ''
Corallorhiza trifida'', which has some chlorophyll and is able to fix CO
2. However, this species also depends primarily on fungal associations for carbon acquisition.
List of species
Many species names have been proposed that are now considered synonyms of other species, or members of other genera. Species accepted as members of ''Corallorhiza'' as of :
See also
* ''
Neottia''
* ''
Pterospora''
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163537
Myco-heterotrophic orchids
Calypsoinae genera