Monotropa uniflora

Ghost Pipe (formerly Indian Pipe)

[ click on any image below to see larger version ]

Family: Ericaceae (Heath family)

Mid-Atlantic bloom time: June - October
Mid-Atlantic fruit ripe: August - November

Indian Pipes have single flower heads on each stalk (reflected in the species name uniflora. They start as white, turn pink as the heads turn upward (hence the genus name Monotropa, meaning one turn), then turn a dirty brown color.

Compare with Pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa) which are usually tawny or pink and have multiple heads on each stalk.

Indian Pipe derives its nutrients and carbohydrates from tree roots through an intermediate source, namely myccorhizal fungi in the genera Russula and Lactarius.

8 June 2012 Appalachian Trail in G. R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Linden, VA	16 June 2012 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA	1 July 2015 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (flower heads turning upwards)	16 June 2012 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (mature, upright, dark flowers)
29 June 2024 Ice Mountain, North River Mills, WV	8 July 2023 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA	15 July 2023 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA	23 July 2021 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (fully mature flowers)
23 July 2021 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (fully mature flowers)

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