In order to feed themselves, a variety of plants in Yosemite are parasitic on soil fungi or other plant matter. The snow plant (Sarcodes genus) is a prime example of a parasitic species for many botanists. The bright red plant, which lacks the green pigment chlorophyll required to synthesize sugars in sunlight, feeds on soil fungi. Another example is paintbrush (Castilleja genus), which is partially parasitic on the roots of other plants. Identify the many species of paintbrush by the petals that fuse into white or yellow tubes extending from clusters of bracts that are typically red. At higher elevations, little elephant’s head (Pedicularis genus) is a root-parasitic herb that flowers in a spike-like raceme, reminding the onlooker of the head of an elephant with its trunk lifted high in the air.