Tara Littlefield, OKNP Botanist, KNPS board member
The sweet, sweet pinesap (Monotropsis odorata), a globally rare little herbaceous plant related to the heath family (now placed in the family Monotropaceae, formerly in the Ericaceae), gets its name from the sweet, clove like scent it emits in the early spring. It is one of those plants that you can find just by using your nose. In fact, you would have better luck finding this plant by its smell rather than sight as it’s a master of disguise, camouflaging its tiny self (just a couple inches tall) among the oak and pine leaf litter in the acidic uplands of the Appalachians.
In addition to its diminutive size, camouflaged adaptations, and strong sweet odor, it is even more of an oddity in the plant world. This little hidden plant gets its energy NOT from the sun, a characteristic plant trait, but from partnering up with mycorrhizal fungi in the soil! No need to photosynthesize and be green if you have friendly fungus among us to help you out. There are not that many plants that have chosen this path of forgoing the sun and going all in with fungal co evolution. These same mycorrhizal fungi are also attached to the roots of the oaks and pines of the acidic Appalachian ridgetop forests and serve an important role of creating an underground network of plants and fungi communicating and sharing nutrients for survival. They call this type of plant a mycoheterotroph-a plant that gets its energy from mycorrhizal fungi.
One of my favorite springtime rituals in Kentucky is to visit the Red River Gorge at the end of March to early April and use my nose to locate patches of sweet pinesap while hiking along the trails of the upland ridges. During the KNPS wildflower weekend this year, a group of excited plant enthusiasts did just that. Walking the pine oak ridge tops, our group took in the scenes of chestnut oaks, scraggly pitch and Virginia pines, and among the little violets, bluets and tufts of pin cushion and broom moss, a faint sweet smell became stronger, until it was so strong our group stopped and knew we were upon a sweet pinesap population. Looking around the leaf litter, we finally located the sweet pine sap, and we all dropped to the ground to view this little beauty in all is glory, enamored by its wonderful smell and amazing adaptations for survival.
