Hemitomes

Hemitomes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants, meaning it holds just one species, Hemitomes congestum, which is called gnome plant or cone plant. It is a rare and unusual plant of the west coast of North America, with a native range running from British Columbia to California, where it grows in the dark, dense forests of the region, including redwood and Douglas-fir stands. It is a small, fleshy, stemless perennial that forms lumps in the leaf litter and may be white, yellowish or reddish-pink. Like its close relative Monotropa it has no green chlorophyll, and it is thought to obtain nutrients by parasitizing fungi of the Russulaceae, though little is known of its life cycle because of its rarity. It grows from a rhizome with fragile roots, its leaves are reduced to sparse scales, and its flowers give way to a fleshy white berry.