Ghost pipe, or Indian pipe, is a perennial wildflower that lacks chlorophyll and is therefore white (sometimes pinkish). It is sometimes misidentified as a mushroom. It usually grows in small clusters.
The flowers arise singly on a white, scaly stem and are urn-shaped, nodding, with 4 or 5 petals and no sepals. The flowers are white, turning purple and later black. As the seeds ripen, the downturned flower gradually turns upright.
Blooms August–October.
Leaves are absent; they are replaced by scales on the floral stem.
Similar species: Ghost pipe is distinguished from pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys, which is its closest relative in Missouri) by its only bearing one flower per stalk. Pinesap usually has a cluster of several flowers on each stalk. Ghost pipe's species name, uniflora, means “one-flowered.”
Height: to 8 inches.
Scattered nearly statewide but nowhere common.
Habitat and Conservation
Occurs in humus-rich bottomland forests and moist to dry upland forests, mainly in oak-hickory forests.
Unlike most plants, ghost pipe lacks chlorophyll, so it is white, not green. Below ground, its roots join with fungi that join with tree roots. This plant thus takes nourishment indirectly from the trees.
Because of its complicated method of obtaining nourishment, this flower rarely survives transplanting, so take pictures, not plants, from the wild.
Status
Native Missouri perennial wildflower.
Taxonomy: Ghost pipe and its close relatives have sometimes been placed in their own family, but DNA studies have shown their close relationship to blueberries, cranberries, azaleas, rhododendrons, and others, and they are all now in the heath family, the Ericaceae.
Human Connections
Organisms like ghost pipe — also called Indian pipe, ghost plant, and corpse plant — strike us as bizarre and cause us to halt, kneel, and take a closer look. They fill us with wonder and pique our curiosity. They train us to keep looking for wonderful things.
The common name "Indian pipe" has been growing out of favor in part due to the fact that the ceremonial pipes used by Native Americans typically do not much resemble the nodding flowers of this plant.
Ecosystem Connections
The fungi associated with ghost pipe are in the family Russulaceae, a group that includes the brittlegills and milky caps. Like many other fungi, they join with tree roots, and both tree and fungus benefit: The fungus gets food from the tree while expanding the tree's absorption network.
