Candy Stick, Allotropa Virgata

Day 272: When I showed up unexpectedly at the office this morning and asked if there was anything I could do while out on a personal photo shoot, a member of our Interpretive staff said, "Yeah, I need some pictures of unusual wildflowers." Well, gosh! That happened to coincide identically with my mission for the day. I had two species in mind. The first was Jeffrey's Shooting Stars and I knew exactly where they were in bloom. My second consideration, Wild Ginger, had no guarantee of success. I had seen leaves at one location earlier in the season, but when I'd stopped on my way up, I discovered that the Vanilla Leaf had overgrown the smaller plants.

Wild Ginger is something of a rarity, and I've only seen it in a few spots. I checked out the easy one first, found a couple of young leaves but no blossoms or even evidence of a blossom forming. Plan B took me three miles up a trail, and once again, no Ginger was to be seen. Despite my lack of success in that regard, I hit the Mycoheterotroph Jackpot with several specimens of Candy Stick, one of the least common varieties and arguably the most showy member of the family. Related to Pinesap and Indian Pipe, Candy Stick is aptly named. Its red and white markings and straight stem make it look like a stick of peppermint candy. This specimen was about two feet tall.