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[Kevin Moore <aleguy33@yahoo.com>]

Ginda, my understanding of Mycorhizzae is that they transfer nutrients both from the soil to the plants and from plant to plant. That is how many forest understory plants, including young trees, are able to survive in such deep shade. I suspect that if your friend plants the indian pipes under an established tree they may well survive, especially if they are going dormant .

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From: Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>
To: NAFEX Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 7:35:05 PM
Subject: [NAFEX] mycorrhizal fungi native in the soil

We used to have discussions here about whether it was helpful to add 
mycorrhizal fungi when planting.  I tried it once or twice, but never 
did anything like a controlled experiment, and after a year or two I 
decided that if the stuff worked my garden ought to be well-
innoculated, and shouldn't need new spores.

In the back, by my oaks, I've noticed a nice crop of Indian Pipes in 
recent years.  It's a weird saprophytic flowing plant . . . or so I 
always thought.  But I dug some up for a friend, and thought I'd 
research it a little on google.  Apparently, it's not only a 
saphrophyte, but a parasite that--get this--tricks mycorrhizal fungi 
into giving it sugars derived from nearby photosynthetic plants.

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/oct2002.html

I'm pretty sure the backyard oaks can spare enough sugar to sustain a 
dozen little clumps of Indian Pipe, and it's sort of a fun plant to 
have around because it looks so odd.  So I plan to leave it where it 
is.  But I also sort of suspect there's plenty of wild mycorrhizal 
fungus in my soil.

Ginda
eastern MA
zone 6

p.s.  after reading how the stuff grows, I doubt it transplants well. 
But I've already dug the clump up (with a lot of nearby soil) and I 
suppose it won't do any harm for her to plant it and see what 
happens.  It's pretty much done for this year, just ripening its 
seeds.  Maybe, even if the parent plant dies, some of the seeds will 
survive in her back yard.
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