Help identifying Appalachain Plant

[Charles R Allen]

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

[David J Bockman]

Hi Chuck,

Probably Monotropa uniflora, aka Indian Pipe.

See

[maxsilverstar]

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

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

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

Pipe has only one close relative, Pinesap. For info and pictures see '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.