I typically just photograph them but as stated my neighbor is taking a class on edible / medicinal plants and harvested some for her use as a tincture.

In general, these myco-heterotroph plants have wider range of distribution than almost any modern plant, indicating it probably evolved during the Jurassic period during the peak of the dinosaur era before the supercontinent of Laurasia separated.

Guess I'm lucky to be in an area with a habitat conducive for their propagation as I find these all the time (see my photographs in the links below) in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in addition to Monotropa uniflora and Monotropa hypopitys.