'Cheating' orchid feeds off fungi instead of sunlight
In a mycoheterotrophic plant has strange eating habits and could be found among all plant species groups. Mycoheterotrophy is a Greek term that describes the bizarre symbiotic relationship between some plants and fungi. By parasitizing upon the fungi, the plant is able to get nutrients without photosynthesis.
Scientists consider this a "cheating" relationship and would sometimes refer to these plants as "mycorrhizal cheaters." Mycoheterotrophic plants are extremely scarce and are typically small in size, usually hiding in the dark layer of vegetation beneath forest trees and are only discoverable during the flowering and fruiting period.
Since these 'cheating' plants are highly dependent on the activities of both the fungi and the trees that provide their nutrients, they are very prone to environmental destruction.
Read more at Nature World News