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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE ORCHID FAMILY | |||||||||
| The orchid family is easily recognizable
because of the unique structures of the flower. There are usually three
sepals and three petals, similar to other petaloid monocots; however, the
sepals often look like the two side petals. The middle petal is called the
labellum or lip and is usually highly modified. The lip can be pouch-like,
have appendages or be coloured differently than the rest of the perianth.
The stamens, style, and stigma are fused together to form the column. There
is usually one functional anther with two pollen sacs that contain masses
of pollen called pollinia. The stigma is usually a sticky surface at the
tip or beak of the column. The ovary is long and can be seen below the sepals
and petals. Orchid flowers can be very bright and large, which makes them popular ornamental plants. This family is well represented in the tropics. Saskatchewan has several orchid species, most of which are quite small. |
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| STRIPED CORALROOT | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Corallorhiza striata | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Striped coralroot is one of the less colourful orchids in Saskatchewan. This species lives off of decaying organic matter in the soil and therefore does not need to have chlorophyll to obtain food. The stems are purplish to yellowish-brown and the leaves are reduced to small bracts. The flowers are in an unbranched cluster at the top of the stem. The sepals and petals can be spreading or touching at the tip. They are reddish-purple or yellow with three to five darker purple veins. The lip has deep red margins and white or yellow centre striped with purple. The column is slender and yellow. The fruit is a capsule. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Striped coralroot is found in aspen woods. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in central to southern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Mid-Boreal Lowland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Striped coralroot is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is almost always locally sparse and possible threats have been identified for this species. However, this species is apparently secure and occurs in numerous localities in the central and southern part of the province. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY STRIPED CORALROOT | |||||||||
| * Are the sepals and petals striped with dark purple? * Are the plants yellowish brown to purplish? * Are the leaves reduced to scales? * Did you find in central to southern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found striped coralroot! | |||||||||
