Sarcodes sanguinea
Encyclopedia
Sarcodes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the heath family
containing the single species Sarcodes sanguinea, commonly called the snow plant or snow flower. It is a parasitic plant that derives sustenance and nutrients from mycorrhyzal fungi that attach to roots of trees. Mycorrhizal fungi are themselves symbiotic parasites that help plants fix nitrogen from the atmosphere in exchange for nutrients from plant roots.
The plant's aboveground tissue is its inflorescence
, a raceme
of bright scarlet red flowers wrapped in many straplike, pointed bract
s with fringed edges, themselves bright red to orange in color.
Sarcodes sanguinea is native to western North America from Oregon
through the mountains of California
into Baja California
. Its name derives from the striking red flower that emerges from the sometimes still snow-covered ground in early spring; this may be as late as mid-May in high elevations, such as those of the High Sierra Nevada.
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
containing the single species Sarcodes sanguinea, commonly called the snow plant or snow flower. It is a parasitic plant that derives sustenance and nutrients from mycorrhyzal fungi that attach to roots of trees. Mycorrhizal fungi are themselves symbiotic parasites that help plants fix nitrogen from the atmosphere in exchange for nutrients from plant roots.
The plant's aboveground tissue is its inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
, a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of bright scarlet red flowers wrapped in many straplike, pointed bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s with fringed edges, themselves bright red to orange in color.
Sarcodes sanguinea is native to western North America from Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
through the mountains of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
into Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. Its name derives from the striking red flower that emerges from the sometimes still snow-covered ground in early spring; this may be as late as mid-May in high elevations, such as those of the High Sierra Nevada.