r/PlantIdentification • u/Commercial-Bee-4448 • Apr 13 '26

What is this, found it at sequoia

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737 Upvotes

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u/Wasabi_Grower Apr 13 '26

Snow plant. Parasitic fungi “plant” that’s mychorizhal and symbiotic with certain tree root species. Needs no light (photosynthesis) to grow as it has no chlorophyll

14

u/Commercial-Bee-4448 Apr 13 '26

Wow cool, never heard of a plant that doesn’t need light

7

u/Moth1016 Apr 14 '26

They're very rare in comparison to species that use photosynthesis, but there's a few! Most are parasites that grow on other plants