Monotropa hypopitys

Pinesap

Family: Ericaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pinesap is a California native perennial found in northwestern California (excluding northern Coast Ranges interior) in mixed and conifer forests at elevations of 120 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces pale cream to yellowish flowers with distinctive sepals that differ from its petals. Growing as a parasitic plant with waxy, fleshy stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it lacks chlorophyll and emerges directly from forest floor organic matter. Its flowers have a short style approximately 1 to 2 millimeters wide, giving the plant a delicate and translucent appearance. This uncommon woodland species grows as a mycoheterotroph, deriving nutrients through symbiotic relationships with fungal networks in coniferous forest ecosystems.

Habitat: Uncommon. Mixed or conifer forest

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 120-2200 m

Bioregions: NW (exc NCoRI)

California counties: Siskiyou, Lake, Humboldt, Mendocino, Glenn, Trinity, Del Norte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.