A life in the dark
In the deep shade of old-growth beech and oak forests, the ghost orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) lives almost entirely underground. This plant has no chlorophyll, the green pigment that allows most plants to create energy from sunlight. Its pale, yellowish-white stem, which can grow up to 30 cm tall, has only small scales instead of leaves. The name aphyllum translates from Latin to "without leaves." Because it lacks the ability to photosynthesize, the ghost orchid is a full-time parasite.
It is a mycoheterotroph, meaning it gets its nutrients not from the sun, but from fungi. Specifically, it forms a parasitic relationship with fungal species that live in symbiosis with trees. The orchid's coral-like branching rhizome taps into the underground network of fungi—primarily from the Inocybe genus—and steals the carbon and nutrients that the fungi have acquired from their host trees. This allows the orchid to thrive in the dark forest understory, completely independent of sunlight. For years, or even decades, the rhizome can lie dormant, slowly gathering energy for a rare, unpredictable event.