Overview

This plant also known as Ghost Pipe belongs to a special group of non-photosynthetic plants known as mycoheterotrophs, that get their food by taking it from a tree-fungus partnership. This might. be characterized as a parasitic relationship but others consider it mutualistic. It isn’t known whether the tree/fungus benefit in any way, however.

Monotropa uniflora is believed to associated exclusively with mushrooms in the Russulaceae family which includes both the Russula and Lactarius genera.

Fungal Associates