2007
Photograph,
Indian Pipes or Indian Ghost Pipes or One-flower Indian Pipes (Monotropa uniflora,
Indian Pipe
family), Fairfax Villa Park,
Virginia © 2007.
In this photograph, the "Pipes" are at various stages of
emergence from the forest
floor. As you can see, this flowering plant has no chlorophyll. The
only time you can see anything of this species is when it flowers. Most
of the plant is underground where it is parasitic on tree roots via a
fungus that actually transfers the nutrients from the tree roots.
So, you might say this plant is a parasite of a parasite. As the
stalks and flowers age, they begin to develop black blotches and
eventually the flowers will point straight up instead of nodding and the
whole above-ground plant will be black and dead.
To order:
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