20/11/2024
Good afternoon from F.N.E.! We’ve got a very peculiar plant to discuss for today’s highlight that you definitely don’t see every day. These guys are so strange that they are commonly mistaken for fungi because of their structures and habits. I’m talking about monotropa uniflora, also known as Ghost pipes, death plants or Indian pipes.
Their name sounds intimidating, but these irregular flowers aren’t as scary as they may want you to believe. In fact, they’ve been known in herbal medicine to actually help with both pain and anxiety. Their common name references back to Native American folklore. The legend says that a group of Chieftains were in the forest having a heated argument while passing around the sacred peace pipe. However, because the Chieftains had shared the peace pipe before making peace with each other, the spirits punished them by transforming them into the ghastly looking plants. As a result, it is said that they grow where friends have quarreled.
But what’s the science behind them? Well, many people think they’re fungi because of their abnormal shape, coloration, and the locations they favor for growing. Ghost pipes are often found in very dark areas in the understory of dense hardwood tree canopies where there’s a lot of decaying leaf litter, and of course, mushrooms. But these really are true plants. Unlike most true plants which use the process of photosynthesis to survive, ghost pipes do not contain any chlorophyll and do not require sunlight to survive, which is why they hold their pale coloration and can survive in such dark environments.
So how are they surviving if they’re true plants that don’t see the light of day? As it turns out, the mushrooms that they are so often found around are their source of food. These plants have adapted to become parasitic to fungi. While the fungus breaks down rotting materials for food, the ghost pipes move in to do the same off of the mycelium network dwelling in the dirt. This is also why people struggle with transplanting and propagating ghost pipes as they require an already established mycelium network to thrive.
We witnessed the most ghost pipes I’ve ever seen during our last hike at Anastasia State Park! Ticket sales have closed for the upcoming hike on Saturday at Sunnyhill Restoration Area, but we’ll surely be seeing more on our hikes in the future. Visit https://floridanaturalistexperience.square.site to see future events and purchase tickets. Until next time, see y’all on the trail! 🥾 ♥️
