How does Indian pipe obtain nutrients without chlorophyll?

The Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) is a nonphotosynthetic perennial herb that lacks chlorophyll, the pigment typically required for photosynthesis. Because it cannot produce its own food, it survives as a mycoheterotroph, a plant that relies entirely on fungal networks for its nutrition.123

The Indian pipe forms root attachments to specific mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi, in turn, maintain symbiotic relationships with nearby trees, such as beeches and pines. Through these connections, the Indian pipe leaches carbon-based nutrients that the fungi have obtained from the trees. Essentially, the Indian pipe acts as a sink for the energy produced by the trees via photosynthesis, effectively "stealing" these nutrients through the fungal network without providing any reciprocal benefits to the fungi or the trees.132