Q: I found this plant is growing in a heavily shaded part of my yard. The entire plant is pure white. Do you have any idea what it is?

A: It’s an albino sweetgum. Albino plants are not often seen but they are not exactly rare either. The albinism is usually the result of a genetic change to the growing bud. For whatever reason, the tissue at the bud stops producing chlorophyll. The leaf emerges but does not survive long because it can’t produce its own food.

see Blackberry chimera

albino sweetgum

albino sweetgum