a thing of beauty

In spite of the sun’s return, it’s a pale, calm winter day, whitely overcast and entirely without a succulent red bursting with life’s exuberance.  It’s a pale day that sends you drifting back to mottled pine-shadows cast across a green forest floor where little speckled towers have thrust into the warm and dappled sunshine. 

Spotted Coralroot, (a.k.a. Corallorhiza maculata), is a leafless, nonphotosynthetic saprophytic orchid dependent on a mycorrhizal union with an underground fungi -- but that does little to explain its magical beauty.  Born from a seed so tiny that it can ride on the jet stream, it lives and develops as an underground ‘corm’ for up to several years and until the time comes for its, more often than not, one-time expression above ground. 

The name Corallorhiza is from the Greek words meaning coral root and refers to the appearance and texture of the plant’s underground parts.  Spotted Coralroot is a beauty among beauties of a Black Hills summer and eagerly anticipated around our ranch in July.  Though it’s the most common of all North American coralroots, there’s nothing common about it at all.  As with all wild orchids, transplanting should never be attempted.

~ Mary

Corallorhiza maculata

From my Native Orchids of North America series – this is an  original relief print ~ 11” x 6” ~ printed from multiple hand-cut linoleum blocks, and signed as a numbered edition of 100.  Made using archival ink on Okawara MM neutral pH paper and printed on a Whelan Pro Press at Green Ink Gallery & Studios in the Black Hills near Nemo, South Dakota.

Artist and amateur botanist, Mary Wipf lives and works in the Black Hills of South Dakota creating drawings, collages, fine marbled papers and silks, and original prints.

All materials and pigments used meet the highest archival standards.

Green Ink Gallery & Studios • by appointment only

605 342-2552 • www.greeninkgalleryandstudios.com

Mary Wipf & Mark Zimmerman – artists:

paintings, drawings, original prints, and fine marbled silks & papers

View more posts from the orchid series...

Corallorhiza maculata:  http://greeninkseen.blogspot.com/2010/12/thing-of-beauty.html

Cypripedium parviflorum: http://greeninkseen.blogspot.com/2011/12/amazing-thing.html

Calypso bulbosa: http://greeninkseen.blogspot.com/2014/12/it-takes-forest.html

Listera convallarioides: http://greeninkseen.blogspot.com/2012/06/small-thing.html