A bizarre parasitic plant that resembles a frowning owl has won a global photography competition for the best snapshot of a plant or fungus. Nestled in dark ground, the “owl” glows according to the eerie emerald World Wildlife Photography Awards.
Photographer Chatree Lertsintanakorn captured the mesmerizing image in a remote nature reserve in Thailand, where the flowering bodies of the tiny plants protrude from the ground at the base of the trees.
The plant, Thismia thaithongianais a myco-heterotrophic species, meaning this is not the case photosynthesis But gets its energy and nutrients from fungi — more specifically, the fungus associated with the roots of trees. In 2018, scientists discovered it in the Doi Hua Mot Mountains in Thailand.
Little is known about this plant, but its oddly shaped body has led to the name ‘Phisawong Ta Nok Hook’, which translates to ‘mysterious owl eye’. according to Nation Thailand.
T. thaithongiana spends most of its life underground until it erupts and reveals its peculiar fruiting body.
Lertsintanakorn learned about the rare species during a meeting with photographer Suchat Chanhomhuan, one of its discoverers.
Related: ‘Terrifyingly beautiful’ image of a golden horseshoe crab wins the nature photography competition
With the help of Chanhomhuan, Lertsintanakorn located the factory in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand’s Tak Province. “I noticed that it grew mainly near the base of trees, making it easy to miss,” Lertsintanakorn told LiveScience in an email.
Location is prime real estate for the little parasite. In general, some types of fungi live around and in the roots of huge trees. They create an underground network in search of minerals that they pass on to the trees. In return, trees provide them with nutritious sugars – in an alliance known as a symbiotic relationship.
T. thaithongiana interrupts this relationship by stealing the nutrients produced by the fungi.
T. thaithongiana is only visible when the fruiting body grows out of the ground, and even then it is incredibly small. “I was surprised by the small size, only 2 to 8 millimeters [0.08 to 0.3 inch] in length,” he said. Lertsintanakorn’s photo was awarded gold in the Plants and Fungi category of the World Nature Photography Awards. The competition, founded in 2020, is now in its fifth year with more than 3,000 image entries this year.
“Our winners always take our breath away with their stunning images. As always, it is so nice to see the amazing caliber of entries for the awards,” said Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the World Nature Photography Awards in a rack.
Other notable images from the competition include a terrifying collection of olive baboon (Papio anubis) heads and skulls at the Abomey voodoo market in Benin, a killer whale (Orcinus killer whale) splitting a herring ball underwater, and a group of crabs clinging to the lava rock-covered shoreline under a wave of water.
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