This species was first described by Chatelain from Norrbotten, Sweden in 1760 and its name means "three
pointed" which refers to the sepal configuration. The genus Corallorhiza gets its name from the resemblance
of the rhizome to coral and this also accounts for C. trifida's widely used common name of the Coralroot Orchid.
Corallorhiza is predominantly an American genus of only 10 species - C. trifida being the only European representative.
This is a saprophytic orchid but unlike the other European saprophytes (Epipogium and Neottia), it does maintain a reasonable level of chlorophyll within its stem and is consequently able to manufacture at least
a modest level of its own food. This is one of the reasons why Corallorhiza may be found in a wider range
of habitat than the other two genus and so although woodland is certainly its preferred environment, it may also be found in more open environments such as wet coastal dune slacks and alpine marshes.
Its a small, leafless plant that can occasionally reach a leggy 25cms and as can be seen from the photo's ,
established specimens can grow in impressive, many stemmed groups. C. trifida's range is enormous and it
occurs over much of North America, Europe and Asia.
Despite its huge range its a very local orchid and by virtue of its size and habitat, a difficult one to find.
It can however grow in large numbers in its favoured sites, as was the case with the colony featured in
these pictures. All photograph's are from the Vercors National Park and date from the last week of May.
.