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Pacific coralroot flowering on the shaded coastal forest floor near Greene Point.

Plants & Mosses

From forest floor to estuary edge.

Close-up of Pacific coralroot flowers on a pink-purple stem against the shaded forest floor.

Pacific coralroot

Pacific coralroot is a native forest orchid that can be easy to miss until its pink-purple flowering stalks rise through moss, needles and fallen cones on the forest floor. Unlike most familiar plants, coralroots contain little or no chlorophyll and rely on relationships with underground fungi associated with forest soils and tree roots. At Glasgow, repeated observations show the species at different stages, from emerging shoots to full flowering.

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