snow plant

noun

a fleshy bright red saprophytic plant of the mountains of western North America that appears in early spring while snow is on the ground

• Syn: ↑Sarcodes sanguinea

• Hypernyms: ↑wildflower, ↑wild flower

• Member Holonyms: ↑Sarcodes, ↑genus Sarcodes

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noun

1. : a fleshy bright red saprophytic herb (Sarcodes sanguinea) of the family Pyrolaceae growing in coniferous woods at high altitudes on the sierras of California often appearing and blossoming in early spring while snow is on the ground

2. : a red-snow flagellate (Chlamydomonas nivalis)

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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.

[1840-50]

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snow plant noun

1. A red Californian saprophyte (Sarcodes sanguinea) of the wintergreen family that grows through snow in mountainous regions

2. The organism of ↑red snow (see under ↑red¹)

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Main Entry: ↑snow

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snow plant,

a bright-red saprophytic plant related to the shinleaf, that grows in high altitudes in the western United States, often appearing while snow is still on the ground.