One of the strangest flowers of our native woodlands is the waxy white Indian pipe, Monotropa uniflora, which can be found in blossom from late June through August.
It is not rare in any part of the Northern United States; on the other hand, it is not commonly seen because of its inconspicuous habit of growth.
Where To Find The Indian Pipe
In fact, it must be searched for on the floor of a woodsy thicket, where it seldom reaches more than 8” inches in height and grows in small groups, generally not close together.
Pine or hemlock woods or even oak trees will shelter this odd little flower. From 10 to 20, blossoms will be found growing together in one group. The stem and flower are white (though sometimes pinkish) and cold and clammy to the touch.
When picked, the plant soon turns black, which accounts for another of its common names —the corpse plant. Still, other given names for this unusual forest gem are the ice plant and the ghost flower.
Indian Pipes Are Leafless Plants
Their stems are covered with degenerated leaves that are merely small scaly bracts. Each stem terminates in a nodding flower head, forming the bowl of the “pipe.”
The flower has four to six scale-like petals and two to four white sepals that fall off shortly after the flower reaches its full development.
Orthodox in form, if not in color, the blossom has a short pistil surrounded by ten stamens.
When the nodding flower matures, it loses its drooping form to become upright as the many seeds in each erect, five-valved fruit develop.
In this upright stage, it is not always recognized as an Indian pipe since it has lost its striking resemblance to a pipe.
Known As A Parasite
This peculiar little plant is known as a parasite, for it takes its food from other living roots or decaying vegetable matter.
At the base of the stems of the Indian pipes will be found a mass of matted rootlets that seek nourishment from nearby roots.
Other native plants similar in this respect are the broomrape and beechdrops, both of which also lack the green chlorophyll common to most plant life.
Tamed Indian Pipes
Indian pipes can be tamed as wildings if care is exercised in transplanting them. The white stems and blossoms in the fall turn brown, becoming as hard and brittle as little twigs.
They remain this way during the winter months to be seen among the leaves even though they are no longer white. I have found that March is a desirable month to transplant Indian pipes from the woods.
The brown remains of last summer’s stems and fruits remain intact and visible along the woodland trails even into late spring.
A sharp spade placed underneath the cluster will lift the whole mass of rootlets together with a portion of the rich, moist soil in which it grows.
This can be transplanted easily to a home ground location if the hole has been previously dug and is ready to receive the spadeful of soil and Indian pipes.
The more the home soil resembles the actual woods soil, the more likely will be the success of transplanting the Indian pipe.
I have put them under tall rhododendrons where the soil is composed largely of decaying oak leaves which seem conducive to their growth.
Reaching Their Maturity
If an examination is made at the base of a group of Indian pipes in early spring, a cluster of pinkish-white stapes will be found ready to develop as the season advances.
In June, these tiny buds push up through the soil to reach their maturity quickly. Indeed, a cluster of these white, pipe-like flowers under the solid green of rhododendron foliage creates a summer planting of more than passing interest.
A native woodland plant in itself is always refreshing, but the fairy-like Indian pipes are odd enough to be a truly novel curiosity.
44659 by Elizabeth Anne Puliar