Plants That Steal Energy From Fungi

Some plants ditch photosynthesis entirely and live as parasites. These botanical cheaters hijack underground fungal networks to siphon off nutrients stolen from neighboring trees.

While most plants rely on the sun, myco-heterotrophs live in the dark forest floor by tapping into vast fungal webs. They essentially act as middlemen, feeding off energy that fungi originally collected from nearby trees through traditional symbiotic roots. It is a clever, if ruthless, evolutionary strategy that allows them to thrive in environments where sunlight cannot reach. This unusual lifestyle turns the typical rules of plant biology upside down.