Pholisma Species, Sandfood

Per Jan Emming of Destination:Forever Ranch and Gardens, a 40 acre desert botanical garden/sustainable living homestead, AZ.:
"Thi...Read Mores secretive parasitic plant occupies sand dunes in a small area of the Lower Colorado River portion of the Sonoran Desert near Yuma AZ, parts of SE California, and NW Sonora, Mexico. These are not cacti despite the superficial similarity. They are part of a small group of parasitic desert plants. Most of the plant is underground and it attaches appendages to the root systems of other shrubs. Pholisma sonorae is a pretty rare species, and they do not appear every year either, remaining dormant in dry ones (in a region that is naturally already extremely dry.) They are leafless and do not have chlorophyll, relying mainly upon their hosts for nutrients. The flowering structures seen here are usually the only time they are ever seen, and even that takes some effort to accomplish.

This is a plant that I have long been interested in seeing in habitat. Populations are vulnerable to extinction due to desert off-road vehicles on the dune areas they require to survive. Historically they were eaten by nomadic desert peoples of the region, but they are too rare to do that today. Flavor has been described as slightly sweet and watery. Today however we should simply appreciate this oddity for the remarkable evolutionary achievement it represents, being able to grow in such a tough environment."