Wormlike seedlings both ends dug into the ground?

Question

I went for a walk yesterday and there were all these wormy looking white plants with one end that comes attached toa root but the other end is dug slightly into the soil.. What kind of plant are these?

Answer 1

My guess is that you saw a parasitic plant called Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora).  When they're fully grown they look like this:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebore/192... so they do resemble the object for which they're named.

But when they're first emerging from the ground:  

http://www.ct-amc.org/News/ct-at/images/...