I get excited every time I see this plant. Commonly known as Ghost Plant or Indian Pipe, most people walk by this plant mistaking it for mushrooms. Once classified as a saprophyte, Monotropa uniflora is now classified as parasitic. The host is actually a mycorrhizal fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees. The tree feeds the fungus, and the fungus feeds the Indian Pipe. So indirectly the Indian Pipe gets its nutrients from the tree, although I doubt that the Indian Pipe is detrimental to the trees overall health.
