Bird's-nest

Bird's-nest is a name applied to two or more distinct plants, of similarly brownish colour and leafless habit, which are root-parasites, and grow more or less concealed under other vegetation. Neottia (Listera) Nidus-avis, the bird's-nest orchis, grows in dark woods, especially beech; Monotropa Hypopitys, a rare ericaceous plant, also grows in beech or fir woods. There is also a bird's-nest fern (Asplenium Nidus); and a group of Gasteromycete fungi, the Nidulariei (Cyathus, Nidularia), from their cup-shape and egg-like spore-bearing masses, have also acquired the same popular name.