Help identifying Appalachain Plant

Sep 03, 2003 2 Replies

I ran across this plant while hiking around the Appalachain mountans a while ago and I cannot find it's name or a reference to it. It's a "white" plant, moderately translucent, void of noticable pigment. It grows only one stem at a time and the flower resembles a bell hanging on the top of the erect stem. They grew in small clusters. There don't seem to be any leaves on the white stem. It may be a fungus and I'm barking up the wrong tree.... but I seem to remember looking it up in the Audubon guide to wildflowers once... but I can't find it again.



Any help finding a reference to the plant would be most appreciated.



Thanks,



-Chuck


Hi Chuck,

Probably Monotropa uniflora, aka Indian Pipe.

See

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It's a fascinating plant called Monotropa uniflora and Indian Pipe. For a photo and basic information including taxonomy see

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linked article 'Ghosts of Summer's Woods' has lots more information.

PLANTS has the US distribution in clickable map form and more images.

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Pipe has only one close relative, Pinesap. For info and pictures see
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's lots more about this plant on the Web. A Google search on the botanical name will turn up almost 5,000 hits.

Happy surfing.

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