The flower of death is the "Crystal Orchid".

The "Flower of Death" plant is more than ten centimeters tall and crystal clear, which is very rare. Experts call it crystal orchid, which belongs to the wintergreen family. It has no chlorophyll in its body, so it cannot carry out photosynthesis. It survives by absorbing nutrients from rotten leaves and is non-toxic.

Crystal orchid is neither an orchid nor a mushroom. It belongs to the wintergreen family. There is no chlorophyll in the whole body, and it never performs photosynthesis. It relies on decaying plants to obtain nutrients. Known as the Flower of Death.

The flowers of crystal orchids appear in dark and humid areas, with crystal white figures appearing like crystal-shaped pipes. The slightly drooping flowers grow singly on the top of the plant, emitting an alluring sound in the dark. The bright white light attracts people to stop and admire it. It is a legendary plant from the underworld. Perennial, herbaceous, saprophytic; stems are erect, single, unbranched, 10-30 cm high, the whole plant has no chlorophyll, is white and fleshy, and turns dark brown when dried.

Crystal orchids obtain their organic nutrients entirely from the soil. The entire epidermis of the crystal orchid root is covered with densely packed hyphae of a certain fungus, and the mycelium is 1 to 2 times thicker than the epidermis itself. The end of the small root is in the fungal sheath, and individual or bundled hyphae are separated from the fungal sheath from all sides. This is different from parasitic fungi because the latter's hyphae are only on the surface of the root and do not invade the root. Go to the organization.

Obviously, the hyphae of the crystal orchid bear the task of supplying nutrients, and the hyphae physiologically replace the role of the root hairs of the crystal orchid.

In nature, crystal orchid is not a rare "ghost". As long as you know its habits and choose the right place and time, everyone can see its beauty. The best time to view crystal orchids is generally around mid-April in the south and a little later in the north. The crystal orchids seen during this period are the most perfect.

If it is too early, the crystal orchid has not yet sprouted; if it is too late, brown spots will appear on the body due to gradual aging, and you will not be able to appreciate its clear, transparent and dream-like beauty.

Reference materials:

The "Flower of Death" crystal orchid was discovered in Tianyu, Shaanxi Province. Web link China.com. 2016-06-01