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Taxon  Report  
Hemitomes congestum  A. Gray
Coneplant,   Gnome plant
Hemitomes congestum is a perennial herb (mycoparasitic) that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
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Bloom Period
Genus: Hemitomes
Family: Ericaceae  
(Monotropaceae)
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Communities: Redwood Forest
Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
PLANTSNewberrya congesta
Information about  Hemitomes congestum from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (HECO6)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Description: Hemitomes is a monotypic genus of plants containing the single species Hemitomes congestum, which is known as gnome plant and cone plant.[1] This rare and unusual plant is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in dense, dark forests such as the redwood and Douglas fir forests of the region. This is small, fleshy, stemless perennial plant forming lumps in the leaf litter. It is white, yellowish, or reddish-pink in color. Little is known about the life cycle of the plant due to its rarity, but it probably obtains its nutrients by parasitizing fungi, so it lacks the green of chlorophyll.[2] It grows from a rhizome with fragile roots and its form is covered in sparse scales which are the rudimentary leaves. An inflorescence emerges on a thick stalk from the soil bearing solitary to densely bunched flowers. The flowers have ragged yellowish or pinkish petals and contain hairs and large rounded yellow stigmas. The fruit is a fleshy white berry. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 07/26/2024).