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• Premise of the study: Mixotrophy is a strategy whereby plants acquire carbon both through photosynthesis and heterotrophic exploitation of mycorrhizal fungi. In Euro‐American Pyroleae species studied hitherto, heterotrophy levels vary according to species, sites of study, and possibly light conditions. We investigated mycorrhizal association and mixotrophy in the Asiatic forest species Pyrola japonica, and their plasticity under different light conditions.

• Methods: Pyrola japonica was sampled bimonthly in sunny and shaded conditions from a deciduous broadleaf forest. We microscopically assessed the rate of fungal colonization and sequenced the ITS to identify the mycorrhizal fungi. We measured ¹³C and ¹⁵N isotopic abundances in P. japonica as compared with neighboring autotrophic and mycoheterotrophic plants, to evaluate P. japonica's heterotrophy level.

• Key results: Pyrola japonica formed arbutoid …