Tag Archives: Allotropa virgata

•

My neighbors, the Guinn Family, have three beautiful Sugarsticks, Allotropa virgata, blooming now. These wildflowers are also called Candysticks.

Sugarsticks obtain their nutrients through a symbiotic relationship with a fungus, primarily the Matsutake mushroom. Matsutakes are known to appear in the area of this Sugarstick. 

It's the gift that keeps on giving - a unique and stunning wildflower in the spring and very early summer, and delicious edible mushrooms in the late fall and early winter!

 

• 1 Comment

•

I was so excited to find this group of Sugarsticks. They are growing on a neighbor's property under a huckleberry bush.

The large one is the largest I've ever seen and there are seven smaller ones emerging. They obtain sugar and other nutrients from underground fungus, which I believe it the Matsutake fungus. Every winter, Matsies emerge in this area.

There is a nice fog bank over the Pacific Ocean, but it's sunny in Anchor Bay. We had some hot air move in Saturday afternoon, and the temperature at our property went from 75 to 92 degrees in a matter of minutes. Yikes! It's not so hot today, thank goodness.

•

Last year Mel Smith found three rare Groundcones on a neighboring property. I've been looking ever since to see if there might be a few on Rick's and my land. A few days ago, I was rewarded. I present to you this rare sighting of Groundcones, Kopsiopsis hookeri.

There is a lot of sandstone where we live, and these parasitic plants are growing in the sandy soil.

Our neighbor's property shares several other sightings with our land - matsutake mushrooms in the winter, Sugarstick, another unusual parasitic plant, and mixed forest and shrubs, which include manzanita, huckleberry, Bishop pines, Tan-oak, Redwoods, Douglas Fir, and more. Sugarsticks, Allotropa virgata, are just barely peeking through the forest duff. Here is a photo from a previous year of these beautiful plants.

There is something magical going on underneath our feet!

It's a beautiful spring day on the Mendonoma Coast. The wind has died down, and the clouds are gone. There is some much-needed rain coming in late this weekend. Fingers crossed!

•

There are several rare plants that bloom at our place in Anchor Bay. One of them is Gnome Plants, Hemitomes congestum. They are growing between a wooden step we put in some years ago when we put in a hiking trail.

On the left there are two small ones just peeking up. We have to be careful where we walk to protect these unusual plants. They extract nutrients from decaying matter. We have Allotropa virgata, Sugarsticks, close by, which indicates there is a LOT going in in this area. Sugarsticks need a fungus to thrive and this is where we find Matsutakes in the winter. Mel Smith recently photographed the first emerging Sugarstick.

Thanks to Mel for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Sunny and windy today - don't bother to fuss with you hair if you are on the coast today!

Spring doesn't know...