Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

"How to Know the Wildflowers" (1922) by Mrs. William Starr Dana says the following about this plant:

"They spring from a ball of matted rootlets, and are parasitic, drawing their nourishment from decaying vegetable matter. In fruit the plant erects itself and loses its striking resemblance to a pipe. Its clammy touch, and its disposition to decompose and turn black when handled, has earned it the name of corpse-plant. It was used by the Indians as an eye lotion, and is still believed by some to possess healing properties."

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This plant is not dependent on sunlight and can grow in dark environments. The complex relationship with other plant forms that allows this plant to grow makes propagation difficult.

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