Dry open oak forests; pine plantations; much less often in beech-maple forests or under tamarack.

The stem is ± bulbous or enlarged at the base in this species, unlike our other species. This occurs in two varieties, the commonest in Michigan is var. odontorhiza, with a closed perianth; var. pringlei (Greenm.) Freudenst. with an open perianth is scattered and uncommon. This is the latest species of Corallorhiza to bloom in Michigan. Flowering collections have been made from mid-August through September, with fruiting occurring through October.

Corallorhiza odontorhiza clearly is increasing in Michigan as well as spreading northward. However, a Montmorency County record from 1947 is not mapped because it was purported to have been collected in June in a Sphagnum bog; presumably there was a label mix-up. Otherwise, records from north of the middle of the Lower Peninsula did not begin to appear until the late 1960's.