snow plant

noun

1. a leafless, parasitic plant, Sarcodes sanguinea, of the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada in California, having a stout spike of bright red flowers, a thickly scaled stem, and a corallike mass of roots.

snow plant

noun

1. a saprophytic plant, Sarcodes sanguinea, of mountain pine forests of W North America, having a fleshy scaly reddish stalk, no leaves, and pendulous scarlet flowers that are often produced before the snow melts: family Monotropaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of snow plant¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Other pieces feature extreme color contrasts, stylized renderings or — in the case of Addison Eaton’s illustration of red snow plants against a turquoise backdrop — both.

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The stones at the bottom of the centre of the pools were incrusted by the red snow plant whose rich colors gave a sense of life to the near-by shallows.

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From oak and chaparral to pines and bear clover, silver fir, and nature-made gardens of columbine, red snow plant, and cyclamen we mounted, and then still higher to a silent tamarack country.

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She knew the high home of the rare and precious snow plant.

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