From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monotropa uniflora, also known as the
Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or
Corpse Plant is a herbaceous perennial
plant, formerly classified in the family Monotropaceae, but
now included within the Ericaceae. It is native to temperate regions
of Asia, North America and northern South America, but
with large gaps between areas.[1] It is
generally scarce or rare in occurrence.
Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain chlorophyll. Instead of
generating energy from sunlight, it is parasitic, more
specifically a myco-heterotroph. Its hosts are certain
fungi that are mycorrhizal with trees, meaning it
ultimately gets its energy from photosynthetic
trees. Since it is not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow
in very dark environments as in the understory of dense forest. The
complex relationship that allows this plant to grow also makes propagation
difficult.
The plant is sometimes completely white but commonly has black
flecks and a pale pink coloration.[2] Rare
variants may have a deep red color.
The stems reach heights of 10-30 cm, clothed with small
scale-leaves 5-10 mm long. As
its scientific name suggests, and unlike the related Monotropa
hypopitys (but like the closely related Monotropastrum
humile), the stems bear only a single flower, 10-15 mm long with 3-8 petals. It
flowers from early summer to early autumn.
Like most mycoheterotrophic plants, M. uniflora
associates with a small range of fungal hosts, all of them members
of Russulaceae [3].
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M. uniflora displaying its common, light pink
coloring.
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Monotropa uniflora displaying the rare red
coloration.
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Monotropa uniflora displaying a pink
coloration.
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Monotropa uniflora displaying a red
coloration.
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Montropa uniflora stem detail.
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Montropa uniflora flowering part detail.
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