Indian pipe
| Dictionary: Indian pipe |
n.
A waxy white or sometimes pinkish saprophytic woodland plant (Monotropa uniflora) having scalelike leaves and a solitary nodding flower.
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Indian pipe |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia: Indian pipe |
Indian pipe, common name for the genus Monotropa and for the family Monotropaceae, low flowering plants of north temperate zones. They are chlorophylless saprophytes with a funguslike appearance. Each stem has scalelike leaves and, with its nodding flower, resembles a pipe. The plant's waxy white or yellowish-white color has given rise to such names as corpse plant and ghost flower. The related snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) of the Sierra Nevadas is a bright red species that shoots up and blooms as soon as the snow melts. Indian pipes, snow plants, and related saprophytes are classed by most botanists as a separate family, the Monotropaceae; by others they are included in the family Ericaceae (heath family). Both families are classified in the Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales.
| WordNet: Indian pipe |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
small waxy white or pinkish-white saprophytic woodland plant having scalelike leaves and a nodding flower; turns black with age
Synonyms: waxflower, Monotropa uniflora
| Wikipedia: Monotropa uniflora |
| Monotropa uniflora | ||||||||||||||||
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| Monotropa uniflora L. |
Monotropa uniflora, also known as the Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or Corpse Plant is a herbaceous perennial plant, formerly classified in the family Monotropaceae, but now included within the Ericaceae. It is native to temperate regions of Asia, North America and northern South America, but with large gaps between areas.[1] It is generally scarce or rare in occurrence.
Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain chlorophyll. Instead of generating energy from sunlight, it is parasitic, more specifically a myco-heterotroph. Its hosts are certain fungi that are mycorrhizal with trees, meaning it ultimately gets its energy from photosynthetic trees. Since it is not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments as in the understory of dense forest. The complex relationship that allows this plant to grow also makes propagation difficult.
The plant is sometimes completely white but commonly has black flecks and a pale pink coloration.[2] Rare variants may have a deep red color.
The stems reach heights of 10-30 cm, clothed with small scale-leaves 5-10 mm long. As its scientific name suggests, and unlike the related Monotropa hypopitys (but like the closely related Monotropastrum humile), the stems bear only a single flower, 10-15 mm long with 3-8 petals. It flowers from early summer to early autumn.
Like most mycoheterotrophic plants, M. uniflora associates with a small range of fungal hosts, all of them members of Russulaceae [3].
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References
- ^ Ray Neyland, Melissa K. Hennigan "A Cladistic Analysis of Monotropa uniflora.."
- ^ David Matthews "Indian Pipes, Ithaca NY"
- ^ S. Yang, D.H. Pfister "Monotropa uniflora plants of eastern Massachusetts form mycorrhizae with a diversity of russulacean fungi."
External links
- Several images are available from the USDA PLANTS Profile.
- Ca. 100 images are available from flickr.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monotropa uniflora |
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 | monotropa |
| saprophyte |
| Indian Puddin' & Pipe (Rock Band, '60s) |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Monotropa uniflora". Read more |
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Mentioned in
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- saprophyte
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- tobacco
- Fifth Pipedream Vol. 1 (1968 Album by Various Artists)
- heath (in botany)
- Jeff Simmons (Rock Artist, '70s, 2000s)
- photosynthesis (process – in botany)
- Ralph Albert Blakelock (American painter)
- indian
- wax
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