Here are fine specimens of an unusual plant called ghost pipes (sometimes Indian pipes), or Monotropa uniflora (“one-turn one-flower”). Although they grow on three continents (both Americas and Asia), the conditions they require are not simple to come by and they cannot be cultivated.
Ghost pipes lack chlorophyll, something all plants require, and so these little lovelies steal theirs. The theft ultimately comes from nearby trees (beech is a common species), using a fungi intermediary — often from the genera Russula and Lactarius (you can see a common Russula on the second image). Besides needing two other life-forms to survive, ghost pipes are also picky about their timing — they tend to sprout in dark woods after a rain when there has been a dry spell.
Ghost pipes were used medicinally (and still are) for hundreds of years to treat anxiety, as well as to help epilepsy.
Source: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/monotropa_uniflora.shtml , and Wikipedia
