Mesmerizing photo shows weird, scowling parasitic plant that looks like an owl

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A stunning photo of the peculiar parasitic plant species, Thismia thaithongiana, wins gold in the Plants and Fungus category of the World Nature Photography Awards.

An owl-shaped bloom of a parasitic plant, glowing green against a black background.
Photographer Chatree Lertsintanakorn snapped the mesmerizing image in a secluded wildlife sanctuary in Thailand. (Image credit: Chatree Lertsintanakorn/WNPA)

A bizarre, parasitic plant that looks like a scowling owl has won a global photography contest for the best snapshot of a plant or fungus. Nestled in dark soil, the "owl" glows an eerie emerald, according to the World Nature Photography Awards.

Photographer Chatree Lertsintanakorn snapped the mesmerizing image in a secluded wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, where the miniscule plants' blooming bodies pop out of the ground at the base of trees. 

The plant, Thismia thaithongiana, is a myco-heterotrophic species, meaning it doesn't photosynthesize but obtains 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.

Lertsintanakorn learned about the rare species while meeting with photographer Suchat Chanhomhuan, one of its discoverers.

Related: 'Hauntingly beautiful' image of a golden horseshoe crab wins wildlife photography competition

With the help of Chanhomhuan, Lertsintanakorn located the plant in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand's Tak Province. "I noticed it grew primarily near the base of trees, making it easy to overlook," Lertsintanakorn told Live Science in an email. 

Its location is prime real estate for the tiny parasite. In general, some species of fungus live around and inside the roots of enormous trees. They produce an underground network in search of minerals that they pass on to the trees. In return, trees give them 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 its fruiting body grows out of the ground, and even then, it is incredibly tiny. "I was surprised by its diminutive size, measuring a mere 2 to 8 millimeters [0.08 to 0.3 inch] in length," he said. Lertsintanakorn's image was awarded Gold in the Plants and Fungi category in the World Nature Photography Awards. Founded in 2020, the competition is now in its fifth year with over 3,000 image entries this year. 

"Our winners never fail to take our breath away with their stunning images. As always, it's such a joy to see the amazing caliber of entries into the awards," said Adrian Dinsdale, cofounder of the World Nature Photography Awards in a statement.

Other notable images from the competition include a haunting collection of olive baboon (Papio anubis) heads and skulls at the Abomey voodoo market in Benin, an orca (Orcinus orca) splitting a herring ball underwater, and a group of crabs grabbing onto the lava rock-encrusted shoreline under a wave of water.

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A basket of baboon skulls at a market.
Enrique Lopez Tapia: "Olive baboon (Papio anubis) and hornbill heads at the Abomey voodoo market. Any wild animal that runs, flies, jumps or crawls is hunted to supply these markets for voodoo ceremonies. Travelling the roads and fields of Benin, and seeing the markets, one realises why there is an absence of wild animals - it is very difficult to see or hear any wild birds, and almost impossible to spot a monkey or any other mammal."(Image credit: Enrique Lopez Tapia/World Nature Photography Awards)
Elise Poore
Elise Poore
Editorial assistant

Elise studied marine biology at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. She has worked as a freelance journalist focusing on the aquatic realm.