E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a fleshy root mass; parasites on mycorrhizal fungi associated with trees; "stems" erect, simple, 5-30 cm tall, pinkish to straw-coloured, drying to black; persistent after seed dispersal; without chlorophyll.

Leaves:
Mostly near bottom of stem, scale-like, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, thick, margins entire or fringed with coarse hairs.

Flowers:
Several to many in terminal, raceme-like inflorescence, usually bent over when flowering, becoming erect in fruit; flower stalks 3-6 mm long; petals 10-14 mm long, erect, overlapping one another, usually hairy on one or both surfaces, sometimes glabrous, somewhat pouch-like at base; calyces 4-9 mm long, margins of lobes hairy; stamens shorter than the corolla; styles 1-2 mm wide, hairy; stigmas slightly lobed.

Fruits:
Capsules, nearly globe-shaped, 5-10 mm long.

Notes:
Stem and leaves can be considered part of the inflorescence.