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July 18, 2005 : Monotropa uniflora
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Keywords: Ericaceae | Monotropa uniflora L.
Indian-pipe, or ghost flower, is startling enough to most people who don't know it that they seek its name - see these threads on the UBC Botanical Garden forums for evidence. The reaction is understandable; the sight of a non-green plant is not an everyday occurrence.
Lacking chlorophyll, Monotropa uniflora cannot photosynthesize. It instead acquires carbon-rich photosynthates in another way: from a nearby tree, via a shared fungal root-association. The process is as follows: the tree photosynthesizes; the carbon-rich products of photosynthesis are transported from the leaves to the roots; the fungus receives a portion of the photosynthates in exchange for piping nutrients to the tree; and the Monotropa, tapped into the same fungus, snags some of those sugars for itself (the fungus also provides the Indian-pipe with most of the mineral nutrients it requires). This particular method of gaining nutrients is known as mycoheterotrophy. Steven Trudell of the University of Washington goes into more detail on this process here: “Fall Mushrooms, Ghostly Fungus-Robbers, and a Definition Revisited”. In central British Columbia at least, Young et al. (2001) found that Monotropa uniflora's fungal associations seem to be restricted to fungi in the family Russulaceae (link to PDF - some interesting microscopic photographs, as well).
Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, named the plant (hence the “L.” after the name in the keywords section). The Linnaean Herbarium, in Stockholm, Sweden, has a digitized herbarium specimen of the plant. Worth a look, if only to see the difference in colour between the living plant and a dried specimen.
On a personal note, my vacation starts next week. On the negative side, I won't be including nearly as much written content with the photographs for several weeks. The images will have to stand on their own for most of the next month. On the flip side, though, is that I'm going to be taking plenty of plant and scenic photographs from the Rockies to the Canadian Shield and the prairie landscapes in between, many of which you will eventually see on Botany Photo of the Day.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at July 18, 2005 12:52 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Michael at July 18, 2005 7:42 AM
I saw something like this while i was hiking in the mountains of North Carolina. A very interresting plant indeed. i thought it was some sort of fern.
Posted by: palmer at July 18, 2005 8:07 AM
I followed my elderly uncle into the woods around Mabel Lake in late july. He's an amateur botanist - his whole life. He showed me these eery, beautiful plants. No chlorophyll - I never knew. He also spotted an orchid he'd never seen before. I'm from Alberta and have not spotted either here.
Posted by: Monica at August 14, 2005 9:55 PM
I spotted this plant yesterday 12-31-08 outside DeLand, Florida. It is growing among coontie ferns in a landscaped bed in my front yard. This is the second time that I have seen this plant growing here in central Florida. I first found this plant growing in a clump some 25 years ago in a heavily forrested area close to the shore of a local lake.
Posted by: John Carter at January 1, 2009 7:29 AM
I believe it was a pink indian pipe I found as a child between Tahsis and Gold River near the Nootka River on the East side of Vancouver Island as a boy. I dug it up and there was a nodule or bulb about 2cm in width. It had to rhizomes going in different directions and they were very tough. I wanted to plant it at home not knowing anything of parasitic plants without chlorophyll. The "nodule" was aromatic. Kind of like cinnamon. I used it as a pomander in my dresser drawer where it remained aromatic for around 2 years. Anyone know which indian pipe it was?
Budd Bishop, DC
www.budd_bishop@yahoo.com
Posted by: Budd Bishop at May 25, 2009 10:57 AM
On the Eastern side of Vancouver Island between Tahsis and Gold River to the left across the Nootka River and a little past the public access to the inlet is a Blueberry Cathedral. It is oval with a canopy of hardwoods. The bushes stant 5-6 feet high and have the biggest blueberries I ever saw as a boy of around 12. I'm 43 now. To the right were prodigious oyster beds with almost every oyster containing a pearl. The blueberry garden looked as if it had been planted or tended by the Nootka Indians for many generations. Does anyone know if it is still in existence. It was spectacular and the home of a pink Indian Pipe with a 2cm nodule that was aromatic and reminiscent of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Budd Bishop, DC
www.budd_bishop@yahoo.com
Posted by: Budd Bishop DC at May 25, 2009 11:07 AM
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Have a great time and I am sure we will all look forward to the fruits (flowers) of your photographic travels!