A Parasite in the Woods – Beechdrops
Beechdrops
I went for a hike this morning along one of the Hilltown Land Trust’s beautiful trails in my area. The Steven’s Trail is fairly new. Some limb clearing had to be done, but the trail was well marked and easy to follow. It went from dark hemlock stands to lighter hardwood forests, winding around boulders of granite covered with moss, lichen and rock tripe. Great hike.
Where beeches were prevalent, beechdrops were growing at their feet. Beechdrops are an interesting plant. Totally parasitic, they contain no chlorophyll so have no green color. They obtain their nutrition from the roots of their host tree: American Beech. Their leaves are not readily noticeable; they are little scales along the branching stems. The curved trumpet-like flowers, which may be reddish/brownish/yellowish stick out all along the branches. Beech drops have only since August become large enough to be noticed and are blooming now. At any given time, only some of the many flowers along the branches are in bloom. Other flowers are in bud while others are finished blooming and working on their seeds if they’ve been pollinated.
Beech drops are a plant of eastern US, from as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence down to Florida, and west as far as Louisiana.
Beechdrops are a very lovely flower when viewed close-up. They often remind me of the orchid Putty Root. We see these often in the Smokies.