Meet the rare and mysterious ‘ghost flowers’ that thrive without photosynthesis

Meet Japan’s Rare ‘Ghost Flowers’ That Live Without Sunlight

Deep in Japan’s ancient forests, where sunlight struggles to pierce the dense canopy, grows a cluster of translucent white blossoms that seem almost otherworldly. Known as ghost flowers, these delicate plants shimmer like decorative milk glass against the forest floor. But what truly sets them apart is not their ghostly beauty—it’s the fact that they survive without photosynthesis, defying one of nature’s fundamental rules.

For botanist Kenji Suetsugu, it all began when he was just five years old. During a family walk through the Kasugayama Primeval Forest in Nara, Japan, he spotted a cluster of these pale flowers glimmering among the moss and leaves.

Decades later, Suetsugu is now one of the world’s foremost authorities on these elusive plants—scientifically known as mycoheterotrophs. Combining old-school fieldwork with advanced molecular research, the 37-year-old Kobe University professor has reshaped scientific understanding of how these plants live, reproduce, and interact with their hidden ecosystems.

Unlike ordinary plants, mycoheterotrophic species do not rely on sunlight or chlorophyll to produce food. Instead, they lead a life of quiet theft beneath the soil. Their roots intertwine with fungal networks, stealing carbon and nutrients from fungi that themselves draw sustenance from nearby trees.

In other words, these plants are botanical freeloaders, tapping into underground systems of exchange and turning them into lifelines in the dark understory. Scientists believe this remarkable adaptation evolved multiple times across history—more than 40 times independently—as a survival strategy in sun-starved forests.

Currently, researchers have identified around 600 fully mycoheterotrophic plant species, nearly half of which are orchids. Many bloom for only a few fleeting days each year, making them incredibly hard to study—and even harder to find.

Through years of meticulous observation, Suetsugu has also rewritten what scientists know about how these “ghost plants” reproduce. Using motion-triggered cameras in dense Japanese forests, he discovered that camel crickets—not the wind—are crucial seed dispersers for some mycoheterotrophic species. These insects consume the plants’ seed-laden fruits, then pass viable seeds through their digestive tracts, helping propagate the next generation.

In other cases, Suetsugu’s team uncovered unlikely pollinators: spiders, ants, and even tiny woodlice, some only a centimeter long. His research revealed that certain orchids self-pollinate using intricate “delayed selfing” mechanisms—an evolutionary safeguard when pollinators are scarce.

Among Suetsugu’s most celebrated discoveries are new species and even new genera—a rarity in modern botany.

In 2022, he identified Monotropastrum kirishimense, a pale-pink orchid found only in western Japan, long mistaken for a common relative.

Collaborating with retired teacher Masayuki Ishibashi, he helped confirm a new species of “ladies’ tresses” orchid, Spiranthes hachijoensis, once thought to be part of an existing group.

And in 2024, working with plant ecologist Yasunori Nakamura, Suetsugu’s team described Relictithismia kimotsukiensis—a completely new genus of vascular plant, the first such discovery in Japan since 1930.

Each find represents years of patient observation, collaboration, and the rare intersection of scientific rigor and serendipity.

Today, Suetsugu’s research continues to peel back the layers of mystery surrounding these plants. His next pursuit is to map the movement of carbon through fungal networks—to understand when, how, and why plants abandon sunlight for subterranean life.