Corallorhiza multiflora Nuttall var. occidentalis Lindley, Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl., 534. 1840; C. grab-hamii Cockerell; C. leimbachiana Suksdorf; C. maculata subsp. occidentalis (Lindley) Cockerell; C. maculata var. fusca H. H. Bartlett; C. maculata var. immaculata M. Peck; C. maculata var. intermedia Farwell; C. maculata var. punicea Bartlett; C. multiflora var. flavida Peck

Inflorescences: floral bracts averaging 1–2.8 mm, often forked. Flowers: middle lobe of lip distinctly expanded, ratio of width of dilated part to base of middle lobe greater than than 1.5; column curved, 3.5–7.8 × 1–1.3 mm at stigma; stigmatic surface oblong-pentagonal, 0.8 × 1.3 mm.

Flowering Apr--Jul. Coniferous and mixed woods, and conifer plantations; 0--3700 m; St. Pierre and Miquelon (variety unconfirmed); Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask.; Ariz., Calif., Colo., Conn., Idaho, Ill., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., Nebr, Nev., N.H., N.Mex., N.Y., Oreg., Pa., S.Dak., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., Wis., Wyo.

Where they occur together, Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis typically flowers 2–4 weeks earlier than C. maculata var. maculata.