Debbie Blank | The Herald-Tribune
Found under damp leaves, the group thought these could be mushrooms or fungi, but it does not match any online photos of 210 Indiana fungi compiled by http://mushroomobserver.org. Oldenburg resident Steve Kristoff is pretty sure the unidentified plant is Conophilus americana, with a common name of American cancer root. "It is a parasitic plant in that it doesn't do its own photosynthesis, but derives its nutrients from the host. The host is usually an oak or beech tree."