Indian Pipe

I don't know why I feel the need to share this with you, other than the fact that this plant seems almost mystical and magical. It's Latin name is Monotropa uniflora, but it is also known as the Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or Corpse Plant and is scarce or rare in occurrence. Figures we'd have an abundance of them in our woods!

Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain any chlorophyll. It is basically a parasite, living off of the fungi that lives off of the energy of photosynthetic trees. I find them under trees, close to the base. Indian Pipe is a food source for small bumble bees, which visit the flowers for nectar. They are waxy feeling and very strange...yet fascinating.