Corallorhiza maculata

Spelling of genus with one 'r' (Corallorhiza) has been conserved; see Taxon 48(2):363 (May, 1999) for more information (pers. comm. John Kartesz, Aug. 1999).

Corallorhiza maculata is a wide-ranging perennial herb with three recognized varieties in woodlands across North and Central America from Newfound and Labrador to British Columbia in Canada, an irregular distribution in the United States from Minnesota east and south to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and the southern Appalachians, and the western United States south to New Mexico to California, Mexico, and Guatemala. Threats include development, logging, recreation, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, this species is considered secure.

Corallorhiza maculata occurs in North and Central America from Newfound and Labrador to British Columbia in Canada, an irregular distribution in the United States from Minnesota east and south to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and the southern Appalachians, and the western United States south to New Mexico to California, Mexico, and Guatemala (FNA 2002). Two varieties have similar, irregular distributions across northern North America (see accounts), and C. maculata var. mexicana is in Mexico and Guatemala.

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 5,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).

Although threats are not widely documented, this species is threatened by land-use conversion and habitat fragmentation, including development, logging, recreation, invasive species, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002).