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Allotropa
Also called Candystick, Sugar Stick, Sugarsticks
Allotropa virgata is in the family Ericaceae and is the only species of the genus Allotropa. It is a perennial plant that gets its common names from the distinct white and red or maroon stripes along its erect peduncle. It is a non-green plant, as it lacks chlorophyll, instead obtaining nutrition from neighboring green plants through a fungal intermediate.
Its common names include sugarstick, candystriped allotropa and barber's pole.
Allotropa virgata was first collected by the Wilkes Expedition in the Cascade Mountains of Washington in the late 1800s. It is found in the oak, coniferous and hardwood forests of the Pacific Northwest. It grows from 75 to 3,000 meters (250 to 9,800 ft) in elevation in the High Sierra Nevada, High Cascade Range and up through British Columbia. There is also suitable habitat in Idaho, Nevada, and Montana.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Allotropa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
