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Name That Plant!

Fungus? What is this?

8 years ago

Every year this delightful whatever-it-is pops up in our garden, about 7 feet from the base of a giant Douglas Fir tree. One of her friends said he feel sit is a fungus that grows on the root of the Douglas Fir, but another one says no way this is a fungus. Anyone know? (As my hand shows, it's about 5 inches off the ground.)

Thanks much.

Featured Answer

macranthos

8 years ago

I considered all of those and myself suggested the albino version of Epipactis helliborine above which is quite common in your area (the plant in general: albino specimens are quite rare). Take a picture of the flower buds and I'll be able to confirm. The albino orchids use their mycotrophic symbionts to fuel their brief sunburnt above-ground experience but usually don't make it to set seed.

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Comments (8)

macranthos
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The only thing I've ever seen that even comes close to your posting is an albino Epipactis helleborine in the forests of Santa Cruz. Yours does resemble an albino monocot of some sort to me rather than a fungus. Any chance we could have a closer photo showing real detail of the stem and or veination on the leaves... All of this is assuming that it isn't a plastic prank... Where are you located and what sort of siting is the thing experiencing (sun, shade, wet, dry, etc...)?
Samantha
8 years ago
Definitely not fungus. I wonder if this photo is taken right after leaves spread out? Or if it's expired/dried out? Does it eventually bloom?
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Thank you for all the excellent thoughts all, and sorry to disappear; I didn't realize the thread had grown so! The insufficient sun query is an interesting thought; up until a month ago, we had a MONSTROUS tree in the yard (which is very small) which certainly affected the sun in the garden area. We had it removed after it threw two giant limbs at our house in a one month span. It hasn't really been long enough to see what sort of an impact that will have and the black spot was already well established at that point, but I hadn't thought of that. I do like the idea of replacing a couple of the more damaged plants with modern varieties and seeing how they fare next year. Combined with the added sun, I'm sort of excited to see what sort of a difference it makes. In the last week, most of the plants have shot forth new flowers, which was pretty unexpected- they went from bare to bud to flower seemingly overnight. The humidity has been MUCH lower and the whole garden seems to be breathing a sigh of relief. I may see if I can get some pictures before the flowers fade. Thank you for all the guidance. I'll keep checking in and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions!
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Jordan Gruber
Original Author
8 years ago
This is as much as it blooms. And no, it is not a plastic prank. This is in an ordinary but very shady front yard of a Menlo Park home, about two miles in from the Bay, not far from the San Franscisquito Creek.

I can post more photos tomorrow. People on a FB plant identification site think it might be an albinoid orchid, or something like that.
Jordan Gruber
Original Author
8 years ago
Other things people on the FB group have thrown out include "some kind of kind of saprophyte like Monotropa (but not Monotropa)"; and " if parasitic, all that yellow suggests Orobanche...but this is still a guess"; and "I'm guessing a native orchid"; and "Monotropa hypopithys? Sometimes yellow sometimes pink"; and "It is an albinoid orchid. In the meantime I am pretty shure. Ask an orchid expert to confirm my proposition."

Only the last of these people seemed "pretty shure."
Jordan Gruber
Original Author
8 years ago

OK, here you go. The first 6 pictures are with a pretty good camera on macro, the last 3 are my iPhone. It's a tough spot to photograph, but it looks to me like the very last iPhone p;inure comes about closest to the true color.
Jordan Gruber
Original Author
8 years ago
These were all reduced size photos, but I can upload any of them you'd like to see in particular with a bigger file of the same thing.
macranthos
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'd say almost certainly albino Epipactis helliborine. The arrangement of buds on the side and leaf arrangement are perfect. The flowers are the little tiny black dried up buds on the top of the stalk (which would usually elongate) just above each small leaf.

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