[Mycology] Re: Mycology Digest, Vol 29, Issue 8

[Frederick Depuydt]

>  While a student at Oregon State University, I was informed that Helen
>  Gilkey had cultivated several species of Choleorhiza (sp?) orchids by
>  first growing Rhizopogon vinicolor (a very common hypogeous fungi
>  which the orchids live off of) first in association with Douglas-fir
>  seedlings. She was the only preson I know of who has been successful
>  at such cultivation.
>
>  It is illegal in California and Oregon to possess even a single flower
>  of these orchids. The fine, as I recall, used to be $500 per flower,
>  and a single stem of these orchids may have 40-200 flowers/buds/seed
>  pods on it. So possession of a stem if you are caught could net you a
>  rather hefty fine. OTOH, very few people know these are orchids
>  anyway...
>
>  Rhizopogon vinicolor is relatively easy to introduce to Douglas-fir. A
>  simple slurry of sporocarps sprayed 2-4 times on seedling trees will
>  ensure nearly 95% colonization of the rootlets if done during the
>  spring. Each slurry application should be done after 2-3 weeks
>  intervals, and preferably during a rain so spores can be washed into
>  the soil near the seedling tree rootlets. Spores not in close
>  proximity to rootlets do not appear to germinate.
>
>  Since R. vinicolor is mostly spores, a single average sporocarp of 1
>  inch diameter will inoculate around a million seedling trees, or
>  enough to reforest several square miles at 700 trees per acre.
>
>  Daniel B. Wheeler

Hello Daniel,

I haven't got a clue why this happened but I only now found back your
answer, my apologies for this belated reply.
I think you are talking about the genus Coralorhiza, right ? There are
indeed a number of mycorrhiza that have a treesome relationship, one
of the fungi which is responsible for keeping Calypso bulbosa alive is
also suspected of being associated with the roots of trees. This
limits the cultivation of these orchids to the protocorm stage,
extended culture would rely on a habitat with shrubs or trees that
have their roots innoculated.
The aclorophylous (such as those in Coralorhiza) will probably never
be cultivated, but the specificity of other genera needs to be tested
on these fungi. Thanks for providing a piece of the puzzle.

Frederick