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sugarstick

Allotropa virgata is in the family Ericaceae and is the only species of the genus Allotropa. It is a perennial plant that gets its common names from the distinct white and red or maroon stripes along its erect peduncle. It is a non-green plant, as it lacks chlorophyll, instead obtaining nutrition from neighboring green plants through a fungal intermediate.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Research Mentions

iNaturalist → · observation

sugarstick (Allotropa virgata) observed in San Juan County, WA, USA

Sugarstick is a rare, fascinating plant that depends entirely on healthy old-growth forest fungal...

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Taxonomy

Scientific: Allotropa virgata
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Allotropa
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ericales
Habit: herb