While hiking in the Blue Hills this afternoon, I found a plant I’d never noticed before. In fact, in one section of the forest, where beech trees were the dominant canopy cover, there were many of these 4 to 8 inch high plants. These small plants branched only at the base, had somewhat spongy or succulent stems, and were tan with purple streaks. Almost all of the flowers were still unopened (in fact, I didn’t notice any open flowers until I reviewed my photos later). Instead, each stem was lined with alternately arranged beak-like buds, also with purple stripes or streaks.

Once I identified this plant as a Beechdrop (Epifagus virginiana) (using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide), I was able to learn more about it. Here are a few of my favorite facts about Beechdrops:

1. These plants actually have two different types of flowers. The flowers that form along the lower parts of the stems are cleistogamous flowers, which means they can self-fertilize without even opening. The flowers along the upper portions of the stems, however, have chasmogamous flowers, which must open to be pollinated, but in the case of Beechdrops, these upper flowers are often sterile. This difference can also be seen in the shape of the buds (see photos below). The lower buds are smaller and rounder, while the upper buds, which will produce open flowers with long corollas, are already longer than those below.

2. Beechdrops are parasitic, and are appropriately named for their host organism, the American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia). Because they are parasitic, Beechdrops contain no chlorophyll, and instead obtain all their required nutrients through the roots of American Beech trees. In fact, Beechdrops are so reliant on beech trees that without them they cannot survive.

3. Beechdrops belong to a small group of parasitic plants in the Broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). All plants in this family attach to their host via haustoria, the portion of the parasitic plant’s root that penetrates the host’s tissue and draws nutrients from it. Because of this, most of the species within the Broomrape family, like the Beechdrop, lack an extensive lateral root system.   Instead, there is a swollen mass of short, bulky roots or one big swollen haustorial organ, called the terminal or primary haustoria (see photo below).