What the heck are these weird red plants?

David Martin · Post by **David Martin** » Sun May 23, 2021 9:07 am

Coming down Middle Fork trail yesterday from Icehouse Saddle we saw a patch of about 12 of these on a shady hillside at around 6500'. There were none before or after that little section. They reminded me of the long red flower stalks we see on some yuccas these days so I wondered if they might be new yuccas, but there were no mature yuccas in that area. They looked like they had broken through the ground cover with some real force. Anybody???

Post by **dima** » Sun May 23, 2021 11:29 am

Those are snow plants! They're awesome. They're plants, but don't have chlorophyll and do not photosynthesize. Instead they're parasitic with the trees they live under. Kinda like mushrooms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcodes

David Martin · Post by **David Martin** » Sun May 23, 2021 5:24 pm

Wow, have been reading about these plants today. They're very interesting, mostly native to California, and people are fond of them. Found a good video:

JerryN · Post by **JerryN** » Sun May 23, 2021 6:26 pm

they are really beautiful and out in force everywhere this year. They might be parasitic, but the current thinking is that they are symbiotic with a mycorrhizal mushroom and a tree, though no one knows exactly how they interact and obtain food. They are supposedly edible but are protected under California law as an endangered species.