PlantFiles: Indian Pipe, Indianpipe, Corpse Plant, Ice Plant, Death Plant, Bird's Nest
Monotropa uniflora

Beautiful plant growing along the edges of our pine plantation in East Texas this fall after a very wet September. Like many, we first thought this was some strange fungus, but a web search for "fungus flower" turned up this informative article: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljune97.htm#ipipe

The flowers smell slightly sweet. These are fun to photograph. Please enjoy but leave them where you find them.

According to "National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers", this plant IS saprophytic. Regardless, it is a wonderful little wildflower and a classic example of why we should enjoy them where we find them, as they do not transplant. I know where they grow and seek them out each summer.

Nitpicky details:
No one has this quite right. The plant isn't saprophytic. It can't break down organic material like a fungus. It does depend on a fungus, but it's more complicated than that. Many plants have symbiotic relationships with fungi where the fungus provide the plant with mineral nutrients from the soil and organic matter that the fungus is breaking down. The plant provides the fungus with excess sugars from photosynthesis. This plant needs mineral nutrients and sugars, since it can't photosynthesize, so it somehow "tricks" the fungus to share the sugars it obtains from another plant. So, this plant needs a fungus and a host plant in order to grow, which makes transplanting very tricky, if not impossible.

I've found a small amount of Indian Pipe growing in Washington State, on the coast, in 60 or 70 year old forest. It doesn't thrive but the patch does get larger each year.

It was great to come across this plant while hiking near Toccoa, GA. There is some Cherokee folk lore about the origin of the Indian Pipe plant. Please do not collect. Just enjoy it in the wild. G

These only co-grow with Milk Mushrooms.
Genera: Lactarius and Russula
When cut these mushrooms ooze white latex.

Neatest little plants. I just love finding them. I think this is a plant I'd like to add to my property some day. They lack chlorophyll and are classified as saprophytes. They depend upon decaying organic material in the soil.

Indian Pipe grows all over my property, emerging in mid-summer and lasting for several weeks. They flourish in woodland soil, rich with leaf litter. Most people unfamiliar with the plant think it is a mushroom when they first see it.

Indian Pipe has a long history as a medicinal plant. Native Americans and early European settlers both used it as a sedative and as a remedy to treat sore eyes. Modern medicine looks on the Indian Pipe with a more skeptical eye, noting that the plant contains various toxins, including several different glycosides.

Info found on the Internet regarding propagation.

Propagation:
This is going to be an exceedingly difficult plant to propagate. The seed will need to be sown close to its host plant so one way would be to sow it in the leaf litter under established beech or coniferous trees[1]. Alternatively, you could try sowing the seed in a cold frame in a pot that already contains a potential host plant. If successful, grow the young plant on in the cold frame for a couple of years before planting it out close to an established beech or coniferous tree.

This plant grows in the woods back of our house. I seldom see it growing in the same place from year to year. It is a very interesting plant but I enjoy it where it grows. I do not think it can be transplanted well.

I have always loved this unique 'plant' and finally captured a shot of it this past summer. My husband and I always have a 'contest' each summer when we travel to Michigan to see who can spot it first in the woods. We are also fortunate to have a wonderful painting that my husband's grandmother painted years ago.

I saw one of these just this week, on the edge of the woods that border our property. I was really fascinated by it -- had never seen anything like it! Well, at least now I know what it is!

From my references, M.uniflora and the other Monotropas ( 12 genera & 30 species) are now classified as belonging to the Monotropaceae family, rather than the Pyrolaceae (Wintergreen) or Ericaceae (Heath) family . They are certainly unique and interesting plants. Great pics here!

Indian-Pipe
Monotropa uniflora
Family Pyrolaceae

Characteristics:
* Plant translucent, waxy, pipe-like.
* Flower nodding, white or pink, turning blackish with age.
* Leaves scale-like.
* Height: 4-10".

Natural History:
* Visible June - September.
* Habitat: Shady woods, in soil rich with decaying vegetation.
* Range: Northeastern United States.
* Native.

Connections!
* Monotropa uniflora means "one flower with one turn" in Latin, referring to the hanging flower. The Indian pipe has also been called Ice-Plant, Ghost-Plant, and Corpse-Plant. Not very pleasant!

* Indian pipes are flowering plants, but they contain no chlorophyll. Without chlorophyll, they don't have to depend on sunlight to grow, and therefore thrive in shady areas.

* Well, you may ask, how are these marvelous plants nourished without chlorophyll? Indian pipes are saprophytic, which means they have a symbiotic relationship with fungi, which break down organic matter around the plant's root and provide a constant supply of nutrients.
i found this on another site while browsing hope you can benefit from this info. still searching central Pa for it.

I first seen this last year,at the edge of my neighbors woods.I tried to transplant it into my moist,most shade garden of cobra lilys,gingers,arums,etc,with no luck.They didnt take,and I havent seen them come back yet.I will go poke around today,and check on hers again,as I hope they came back.
I love the way they grow,they appear as a mushroom,I had no idea what they were,and I learned the name from this web site!Thank you again!!!!The cluster pic that you show,is by far the most beautiful I have seen yet,thank you,great pics!
My only experience was negative on transplanting,otherwise,positive,they are beautiful and odd,My kind of garden!

Indian pipes are very common in the Catskill Mountains of NY. They grow wild in the woods all over, but I have never seen them in a garden.

This unusual plant is found quite often in the Ocala National Forest in north central Florida.

The Monotropa uniflora contains no chlorophyll and can't carry on photosynthesis, they must derive their metabolic energy in other ways. The indian pipe is a saprophyte just like most fungus, meaning this species lives on and helps to break down dead or decaying plant matter. Then the indian pipe absorbs the nutrients from the matter. The plant roots also have a symbiotic relationship with a particular species of soil fungi (pH dependant) to supplement its diet. This special relationship would make it difficult to grow these outside the natural environment in which they were found.

I have not grown this plant but found some while playing in the woods as a child. They were fasinating to me and dug some up and brought them home but they did not live long after transplanting. The photo brought back fond memories of by-gone days when my sister and I roamed the woods looking for blood root, ginger, and native ferns.

This is a perennial herbaceous plant,which can reach 8inches in height.The the entire plant is white or in some cases pinkish turning black or dark brown with age.There are no real leaves only scales.The flowers are white sometimes pinkish. Blooms first appear in early summer and continue into late summer. The number of flower parts may vary but there is only a single flower on each stem. The flowers droop at first later becoming erect as the fruit matures.Usually found in dry woods.