Hypopitys monotropa (Pinesap) - photos and description
General: Saprophytic plant of pine forests. Flesh coloured foliage, indicating an absence of chlorophyll.
Flowers: Flowers grow in short racemes, are cream coloured to pinkish brown, have yellow centres. I measured flowers growing to 12 mm in length. Flowering begins early to mid July.
Leaves: Leaves are stalkless scales on the stem.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 30 cm, I've measured plants to 18 cm tall.
Habitat: Rich soil in coniferous woods.
Abundance: Very rare, ranked as S1 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Monotropa hypopitys.
When and where photographed: Took these photos July 5th and July 25th in lodgepole pine forest in the Cypress Hills, about 450 km SW of our home in Regina, Saskatchewan.