Psychedelic Asparagus

The mysterious Snow Plant (sarcodes sanguinea) has always been one of my favorite plants since I first moved to Sequoia National Park and saw them for the first time. Like many of the folks in this video, I was always confused: Was it a plant? or a fungus? or an alien invader?  And even though there was a great photograph of a hummingbird nectaring on a sarcodes in the Lodgepole Visitor Center in Sequoia, I had never actually SEEN a hummer on a snow plant before. Now I’ve seen dozens, and I spent a fair bit of time trying to catch the little buggers with my camera for your enjoyment.