Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)
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Additional Flower Resources Indian Pipe Family Types of Flowers |
The species name uniflora refers to the plant's single flower. Pinesap produces multiple flowers on a single stem.
Its white stem and flower give rise to some additional common nicknames such as ghost plant and corpse plant. Actually, they belong to the long line of friendly ghosts, because they delight most all visitors who walk in the woods during the summer, their traditional bloom time.
The plants in the top picture have dark tinges, indicating aging. They turn completely black shortly after blooming, or when picked from the ground. Their fragility and inability to be transplanted makes them a good candidate for the look but do not pick flower category.
Indian Pipe's ability to adapt to a variety of mycorrhizal fungi, predominantly in the Russulaceae mushroom family, makes it among the most widespread of the mycotrophic heaths (plants formally in the Indian Pipe family). With the exception of the Desert Southwest, both Russulaceae and Indian pipe are associated with conifer and hardwood forests floors across North America.
© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels