I’ve never seen this before. Located on the battlefield trail of a state park.
Hi Dawn,
your plant is a wonderful native usually called Pinesap, Monotropa hypopitys. It is a close relative of the Indian Pipes, Monotropa uniflora. I have noticed some color variation in this plant. It is connected to fungi in the soil as well as tree roots which give it nutrition because this wildflower has no chlorophyll and cannot make its own food. You can find more about this plant here: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MOHY3
Sincerely,
Dr. Steven Hill, Botanist, SCNPS