Photo: Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
WESTBOROUGH Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — While amateur botanist Syke van der Laan was on one of his field trips in the Berkshires, he noticed a strange-looking plant and decided to call MassWildlife.
MassWildlife sent out two botanists who looked at the plant and confirmed it was a pine-drops, the first time the plant had ever been recorded in Massachusetts.
The pine-drops can be found out west in the Rockies, and there have been rare sightings in the Northeast, but never in Massachusetts.
Pine-drops is an unusual plant because it contains no chlorophyll and relies on mycorrhizal fungi in the soil for nutrients.
It's related to the blueberry.
It is unclear whether more pine-drops will be discovered in the Commonwealth or why they went undetected for so long.
But experts say now that they know the pine drops are here in the state, they will look for more.
WBZ's Al Griffith (@algriffithWBZ) reports.
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