Pictures of the Week 6.19.13

Somewhere in North Cascades National Park summer 2005. Day one of a four day trip. It took me 10 and a half hours of brush bashing and stream wading to get to this point. I was almost pinned by a large boulder in the stream I waded to get here. I ended up almost completely soaked with a jammed thumb from the experience. This mountain is also visible but not really accessible from a U.S. Forest Service road on the Park's border to the south but the road is now closed, requiring a solid day of walking to access the viewpoint. 

Somewhere in North Cascades National Park summer 2005. Day 2 of a 4 day trip.

2005. Day 3 of the 4 day trip. 

2005. Day 3 of a 4 day trip.

2005. Day 3 of a 4 day trip.

2005. Just over a low pass from previous photos. Day 3 of a 4 day trip. 

Somewhere in North Cascades National Park summer 2006. Same place as previous photos, one year later.

Same place as previous photos summer 2006. 

Zoomed in waterfall from previous photo. I have heard this may be one of the taller waterfalls in the state, depending on how one measures one's waterfalls. This is only the upper part of the waterfall. I believe parts or all of this waterfall were visible from the Forest Service road mentioned earlier. 

Western coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata mertensiana). I have noticed this native orchid blooming in the woods lately. These plants have no green leaves or chlorophyll except for a small area in their ovaries so they don't photosynthesize to make their own food. Coralroots depend on connections with fungal mycorrhizae (fungus roots) in the soil to provide them with food water and minerals. Mycorrhizae are not true roots but they serve similar functions and are actually more efficient than true roots for transporting water and nutrients. Mycorrhizae are often attached to nearby tree or other plant roots and provide nutrients, minerals and water to the tree or plant. In return, they apparently get food in the form of sugars from the plants. Evidently coralroots are just along for the ride in this equation. Because of these connections, coralroots do not need fine roots and their roots end in large branching stumps that look similar to coral. 

Coralroots were once classified as saprophytes (and probably still are by some) because it was believed that they derived their nutrients from  decaying wood and forest litter. It is now known that many of these nutrients come from living plants and trees via fungal mycorrhizae. However, many fungi also break down dead wood and forest litter and there are many connections in the nutrient cycling of the forest soils so it is likely that some of the nutrients that sustain these plants do actually come from dead wood and forest litter. 

Since coralroots do not need chlorophyll, they can be found in a variety of colors. This western coralroot is light yellow and almost white. This color seems to be uncommon but not rare.

This western coralroot is intermediate between light yellow and pink. These plants are slender and grow to a maximum height of about 18 inches and the flowers are small. At a glance, they look like weird sticks protruding from the forest floor but are really beautiful on close observation.  

Spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata maculata).  I seem to encounter this coralroot more commonly at lower elevations though I have been seeing a lot of western coralroot at lower elevations lately. Though spotted coralroot is a different subspecies, it looks quite a bit different in form and coloration. Almost all of the spotted coralroot I have ever seen has been reddish brown with little or no variation beyond being a little lighter or a little darker, unlike the western coralroot.