Pterospora andromedea (Pinedrops) - photos and description
15 cm ruler for scale
General: Perennial, red-coloured saprophyte of pine forests. Stems simple, very sticky with glandular hairs. Note the plant's lack of chlorophyll.
Flowers: Flowers many, bell-shaped, growing in a long raceme, cream coloured. We measured a flower at 5 mm long.
Leaves: The plant has leaflike scales on the lower stem.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 90 cm. I measured plants to 35 cm tall.
Habitat: Lodgepole pine forest in the Cypress Hills.
Abundance: Very rare, ranked as an S1 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: Took the above photos July 5th, July 11th and July 24th, in lodgepole pine forest in Cypress Hills Provincial Park in SW Saskatchewan, 425 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.