Ghost Pipe

Appearance

The stems reach heights of 5–30 centimetres, sheathed with highly reduced leaves 5–10 millimetres long, best identified as scales or bracts. These structures are small, thin, and translucent; they do not have petioles but instead extend in a sheath-like manner out of the stem.

As its scientific name suggests, and unlike the related "Monotropa hypopitys", the stems bear a single flower 10–20 mm long, with 3–8 translucent petals, 10–12 stamens and a single pistil. It flowers from early summer to early autumn, often a few days after rainfall. The fruit, an oval capsule-like structure, enlarges and becomes upright when the seeds mature. Past maturity the stem and capsule look desiccated, and dark brown or black with a brittle texture.

The seeds of "M. uniflora" are small, ranging between 0.6–0.8 mm in length. Once the plant has been pollinated, the seeds are pushed through the petals in a tiny slit and dispersed via wind methods.

Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain chlorophyll. Instead of generating food using the energy from sunlight, it is parasitic, and more specifically a mycoheterotroph. Its hosts are in the "Russulaceae" family. Most fungi are mycorrhizal, meaning that they grow symbiotically in association with tree roots. Through the fungal web of mycorrhizae, the "M. uniflora" roots ultimately sap food from where the host fungi are connected to the photosynthetic trees. The clustered node roots of this plant are covered in hairs called cystidium. The cystidia found on these roots allow easy attachment to fungi hyphae, such as can be seen in ectomycorrhiza. Since it is not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments like in the understory of dense forests. The complex relationship that allows this plant to grow makes propagation difficult.

Habitat

The flowers of "M. uniflora" are visited by various bee and fly species, most commonly bumblebees. Bumblebees are an important pollen dispersal agent for the plant, crawling into the flower for pollen.

Like most mycoheterotrophic plants, "M. uniflora" associates with a small range of fungal hosts, all of them members of Russulaceae.

It is often associated with beech trees.

Defense

The plant contains glycosides and may be toxic to humans.

Uses

In addition to various reported medical uses, the plant has been used as an anxiolytic in herbal medicine since the late 19th century. This may be due to the plant containing salicylic acid.

Walter H. Prest described the plant as having an asparagus-like flavor once cooked.

Cultural

"M. uniflora" has been featured in several pieces from renowned American poet Emily Dickinson.

The Cherokee of North America feature the "pipe plant" in some of their creation stories. The legend states that the plant was named "Indian pipe" due to a group of chiefs quarreling without resolution, while passing a pipe around during the dispute; the Great Spirit then turned the chiefs into the plant, as they should have smoked the sacred pipe after making peace with each other. The plant is said to grow wherever friends have quarreled.