Not a mushroom, take #2.

Traipsing through the forests behind the botanical gardens I cam across some Monotropa hypopitys (pinesap) growing below some pines.

All the ways to be wrong about this flowering (yep, that's what you're looking at) plant:

1) It's a fungus - nope, read the title!!

2) It's a parasitic plant - nope, well sorta... Most people think it may be parasatizing the pine's roots, but read on...

3) It's a Myco-heterotroph, ding, ding ding, we have a winner!!!!

This means it parasatizes a fungus that is associated with, and beneficial for, the pine's roots (mycorrhizae). It is white because it doesn't produce chlorophyll. It doesn't need to because it gets all its nutrients from the host (parasites are lazy sorts).

I know I say this periodically, but ain't Biology grand?????