Monotropa uniflora
Indian Pipe
MONOTROPACEAE
This
is an unusual, waxy, translucent, white plant devoid of all chlorophyll
with leaves that are basically scales. It is not a mushroom, but a
flowering plant, albeit an unusual one. Because it lacks chlorophyll it
must get its nourishment from a fungal relationship with roots.
Because of the way it gets nourishment, it lives in deciduous woods and bogs throughout North America. It grows to a height of three to nine inches and blooms from June through September.
