Japanese name: タヌキノショクダイ（狸燭台） Scientific name:Thismia abei
[Overview]
A saprophytic plant 1–4 cm tall, growing in evergreen broad-leaved forests.
Because it has no chlorophyll, the whole plant is white.
From a thread-like rhizome rises a short flower stalk bearing several small scale-like leaves, but it is mostly hidden under fallen leaves.
The flower stalk is delicate and bears a single flower at its tip.
The flower is urn-shaped, about 1 cm long, and after flowering it breaks off sideways, leaving the base, and falls.
There are 3 inner tepals, obovate-wedge-shaped and 5–6 mm long, whose tips are fused and straddle the top of the floral tube like a tripod.
The inner tepals bear linear appendages on the back.
The outer tepals are about 3 mm long, with tips extending linearly and spreading outward.
Six stamens are attached inside the mouth of the floral tube.
The fruit is a capsule.
[Notes]
The name compares the shape of the flower to a candlestick.
