Wayne's Word Index Noteworthy Plants Trivia Lemnaceae Biology 101 Botany Scenic Wildflowers Trains Spiders & Insects Search Pinnacles & Sequoia-Kings Canyon Road Trip #5      Home        Part 1        Part 2        Part 3        Part 4        Part 5        Part 6        Part 7        Part 8   Part 5: Giant Forest & Grant Grove: Sequoia-Kings Can. National Park © W.P. Armstrong 1 October 2011 Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum). White fir (Abies concolor & pine lichen (Letharia vulpina). Two Seldom-Seen Species Of Mycotrophic Wildflowers ("Fungus Flowers") That I Found Near The General Grant Grove About 30 years Ago in July 1982 These are flowering, seed-bearing vascular plants without chlorophyll that resemble fungi. They absorb energy-rich carbohydrates and amino acids from the roots of nearby trees via mycorrhizal soil fungi. Fringed pinesap (Pleuricospora fimbriolata), a striking mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a fungus than a flowering plant. Each fleshy scale bears an inconspicuous white flower. Like a mushroom, it lacks chlorophyll and is nonphotosynthetic. California pinefoot (Pityopus californicus), a striking, rare mycotrophic wildflower that looks more like a fungus than a flowering plant. Each fleshy scale bears an inconspicuous white flower. Like a mushroom, it lacks chlorophyll and is nonphotosynthetic.   See Wayne's Word Article About Mycotrophic Wildflowers   All images on this page copyright © W.P. Armstrong