Sarcodes sanguinea Torr.
Family: Ericaceae
Snowplant
Sarcodes sanguinea image

Inflorescences 1.5-5 dm, glandular-hairy; bracts red, 1-8 × 5-15 mm. Flowers: sepals 8-15 × 4-6 mm; corolla 12-18 mm, base saccate, lobes reflexed, rounded to blunt; stamens 8-12 mm; anthers inverted at anthesis, 3-4 mm; ovary 5-7 × 6-9 mm, glabrous; style 5-8 × 1-2 mm; stigma reddish, 2-3 mm diam. Capsules persistent to disintegrating, 10-25 mm diam., walls brittle, segments not separating. Seeds 0.5-1 mm diam. 2n = 64.

Flowering late spring-summer. Coniferous or mixed-deciduous forests; 1100-3000 m; Calif., Nev., Oreg.; Mexico (Baja California).