Okay, this post is literally about our backyard, a few hundred steps out our door! I had heard from a neighbor that the road we live on has a rare orchid. So Satori and I went hunting for it in our backyard and found this, which I’m 99% sure is a Spotted Coral Root Orchid. I doubt this is the rare orchid she was referring to though.
I first saw this tiny plant, Corallorhiza maculata, (it is only a foot tall) a few weeks ago and it wasn’t hard to find him again. He was in our shady forest probably at 9000 feet altitude.
Spotted Coralroot Orchid
Corallorhiza maculata, is so named because the Greek word “korallion” means “coral” and “rhiza” means “root” which refer to the coral-like appearance of the lower stem rhizomes. “Maculata” from the Latin word “maculates” means “spotted”, which you can see on its flowers. The Spotted Coral Root Orchid is pretty cool because it does not photosynthesize, but takes advantage of mycorrhizal fungi. It parasitizes the fungi. You can see it has no leaves and no photosynthetic green tissues.
I have read the book The Orchid Thief and the related movie, but we’re no orchid thieves! We just took our picture and left him alone. 
Now I’ll be on the lookout for more Colorado orchids on our hikes, now that I’ve researched them, I know what to look for. Here’s an excellent document regarding Colorado Orchids:
North American Native Orchid Journal – Vol 13, 2007 – “The Native Orchids of Colorado”
And here’s some amazing Spotted Coralroot Orchid specimens taken by a talented photographer who probably took a tripod with him, a 12″ reflector disc. I *did* think of it, but I guess I was too lazy this morning to do all that. 
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