Enjoy Snow Plant, Sarcodes sanguinea

contributed by chapter member Steve Perry 

One of my favorite native plants of the late spring and early summer is the snow plant, a member of the Wintergreen (Pyrolaceae) family.

While it may not be the rarest plant in the forest, to me there is no plant whose sight is more arresting while driving down a mountain road. The fleshy red plant (hence it's botanical name, Sarcodes = "flesh", sanguinea = "blood" ), is a saprophyte*, feeding on decaying material in the soil, and containing no chlorophyll. It occurs between 4000 and 8000 feet throughout most of California, southern Oregon, and even northern Baja. To quote Philip Munz in California Mountain Wildflowers, the flowers of the snow plant "...are numerous, in a stout spicate terminal raceme, with a bell-shaped corolla having five slightly spreading lobes." However, it's the fire-engine red color that make them stand out above all other plants in the forest.

A good place to see Snow Plants is along the Government Meadows trail during June. This trail starts off the Silver Fork Road, just east of the Kyburz Inn on Highway 50. (Another way to get there is to come down Silver Fork Road from Mormon Immigrant Trail, aka Iron Mountain Road. When you get to the river crossing, turn into the campground area (on the upstream side), and park.

The first few miles of the trail follow the north side of the Silver Fork toward Caples Lake, and is mainly open slopes of granite followed by occasional dense wooded areas. The most commonly seen wildflowers along this part of the trail are lupine, Indian paintbrush, and penstemmon. Shortly after the confluence of the Silver Fork with Caples Creek (which is rather spectacular most of the summer), the trail enters denser woods. After skirting the granite slopes on your left for a while, the river channel broadens into a wide, sandy area populated with fir trees. (By the way, this is a great fishing spot, but watch out for huge mosquitoes! This is the first area to encounter some very impressive snow plants. In the early summer they stretch all the way from the fallen trees near the trail down to a few feet from the riverbank. This area is heavily shaded, so if you're taking photographs be sure to bring an adjustable tripod and a cable release. Despite, or perhaps because of, the sandy soil in this spot, these are some of the largest, stoutest snow plants I've encountered in northern California. The trail continues east, climbing through a sunnier, mixed growth forest east toward Jack Schneider Meadow. Just before you arrive at the meadow, there's a small marshy meadow on the right side of the trail full of grasses, wildflowers and aspen trees, and just across this meadow there's a small granite outcropping that sometimes has a few snow plants in the shade. Prepare to get your feet wet if you venture over to get a closer look. Just beyond this marshy area you may see more snow plants on the north side of the trail, hiding among the fallen fir trees. After a few minutes walk, you're at Jack Schneider Meadow, which is pretty marshy itself, even in mid-summer. At the meadow, the snow plants are hiding all around the north rim, under the trees among the copious pine cones. These specimens are generally shorter than the plants along the river, but rank among the most beautiful that I've ever found. I have to admit my preference, however, for young snow plants, when they're at a height of 2-6 inches, before the flowers, just as the petals begin to unfold. At this stage the petals look like fingers which, having emerged from the forest floor, begin to flex and spread apart, reaching for the sky.

A few weeks later in the summer, the snow pack has melted enough to travel my favorite trail in the Silver Lake area, the Horse Canyon trail. The trail head is on the south side of Highway 88, about a mile east of the Silver Lake spillway, right at the bottom of the hill where the road makes a 90 degree left hand turn. There are two small, graveled parking areas just before the turn. The second turnoff is where the signed trail head is located, among a grove of full-grown aspen trees. The trail starts across a sunny meadow full of seasonal wildflowers, and a small creek running though it, featuring columbine and senecio. At the end of the meadow, you cross the stream and head into a fairly dense forest, initially consisting of aspens and red fir, and later mostly firs. Just a few yards down the trail you'll cross another seasonal stream which is lined, early in the season, with a glorious collection of sun-loving wildflowers among the ferns leading up the hillside to the east. This is also a great place to see butterflies. Just beyond the stream, the snow plants begin to appear, first on the hillside to the left, then on the gentle down-slope to the right. For the next mile or so, the sharp-eyed observer will find dozens of them, especially up the hill toward Thunder Peak. From year to year the size of the plants in this area varies quite a bit, since they seem to prefer a long winter followed by a cool spring. In past years, when the snow pack has been shallow and the spring weather warm, many of the snow plants were no more than a few inches tall. Hopefully, this will be a good year. About a mile into the hike, the trail turns east toward Thunder Peak, and half a mile later the trees part to reveal an amazing view of its shear cliffs. This area is sunnier and more open, with less decaying material for the Snow Plants to feed upon, but they still may be found on either side of the trail, usually hiding among the fallen trees. As you turn south and continue down the trail, the best snow plants are behind you, but the next two miles offer a dazzling array of wildflowers along with spectacular views of the entire Silver Lake region. The hillsides are covered with mule ears, lupine, and paintbrush, and seasonal streams offer delphiniums and two species of orchids. Side trips out onto the large granitic areas yield phlox, sedum, and other rock-garden varieties. And, if you have the time and the energy, climb Thimble Peak or West Pass. From there you'll gain views of the entire Carson Pass Area (Kirkwood, Round Top, Emigrant Peak, Red Lake Peak, and Lake Tahoe). It's all well worth the trip.

* saprophytes differ from parasites in that a saprophyte lives on dead or decaying tissue while a parasite needs a living host.