General: Perennial herb from a fleshy root mass; parasites on mycorrhizal fungi associated with trees; "stems" erect, simple, 5-30 cm tall, pinkish to straw-coloured, drying to black; persistent after seed dispersal; without chlorophyll.
Leaves: Mostly near bottom of stem, scale-like, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, thick, margins entire or fringed with coarse hairs.
Flowers: Several to many in terminal, raceme-like inflorescence, usually bent over when flowering, becoming erect in fruit; flower stalks 3-6 mm long; petals 10-14 mm long, erect, overlapping one another, usually hairy on one or both surfaces, sometimes glabrous, somewhat pouch-like at base; calyces 4-9 mm long, margins of lobes hairy; stamens shorter than the corolla; styles 1-2 mm wide, hairy; stigmas slightly lobed.
Fruits: Capsules, nearly globe-shaped, 5-10 mm long.
Notes: Stem and leaves can be considered part of the inflorescence.
1. Plants pinkish to straw-coloured; inflorescence of several to many flowers in terminal clusters; petals 4, 10-14 mm long; sepals 4...........................M. hypopithys
1. Plants waxy-white; inflorescence of a single terminal flower; petals usually 5, 15-20 mm long; sepals lacking but upper bracts sepal-like...........................M. uniflora
Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat / Range
Mesic forests in the montane zone; frequent in SW BC, infrequent in SC BC and northward to 57æN; circumboreal, N to SE AK, E to NF, and S to CA, MX, and FL; Europe.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
