Ghost Plant Monotropa uniflora – Native Plant of the Week

Introduction

Ghost Pipe, Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or Monotropa uniflora has always been one of my favorite native plants. It completely lacks chlorophyll and appears ghostly white in color, hence the common name. I have always loved what I refer to as ‘oddball plants’. These are plants that look, grow, or otherwise behave abnormal compared to most other plants. Ghost Pipe is most certainly an oddball plant that looks unlike almost all other plants. To the point it is occasionally mistaken for a fungus. Its ghostly white fleshy stems and unique flowers appear on the forest floor, much like a fungus, not requiring any sunlight for its nutrition.

It is sometimes referred to as a parasitic plant or a saprophyte. A parasitic plant feeds on living organic matter. A saprophyte is an organism that feeds on dead or decaying organic matter rather than living organic matter. It is currently being described instead as a mycoheterotroph. Mycoheterotrophy is a form of parasitism where the plant feeds on mycorrhizal fungi. Ultimately this means it gets its food from photosynthetic plants. It just does it by way of mycorrhizal fungi that get their food from the photosynthetic plant (usually forest trees). In the case of Monotropa uniflora, its fungal hosts are all members of the Russulaceae family.

Ghost Pipe is usually lumped into a broader Ericaceae (Heath) family with its other parasitic relatives as a subfamily of Ericaceae. Or if you are more of a splitter as I am and prefer your plant families to be more coherent and less morphologically variable for ease of identification, then they are part of the Monotropaceae family.

Description of Ghost Pipe, Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe

Stem & Leaves

The fleshy stems are rapid growing and seemingly ephemeral. They pop up on the forest floor when the conditions are just right for them, and then they seem to disappear almost as fast as they appeared. The plant is actually a perennial though. Like a fungus it spends most of its time underground. The stems usually grow from 5 – 30 cm long and are erect, solitary, and unbranched. They are usually a ghostly white color but can be grayish, pinkish, or rarely red in color.

The leaves are very reduced and appear nothing like normal leaves. They are only 5 – 10 mm in length and appear wrapped sheath-like around the stem. There are no petioles (leaf stalks) present. They often appear thin and somewhat translucent, but otherwise, the color is the same as the stem. Sometimes they are classified as bracts though botanically speaking they are a reduced leaf.

Flowers & Fruits

The pedicels (flower stalk) are nodding when they first appear but then become erect as the flower matures. As the name Monotropa uniflora suggests it has a single flower that appears at the top of the stem. It has 5 (3-6) sepals that are similar in appearance to the surrounding bracts, translucent whitish in color. The sepals are 7 – 10 mm long and are lanceolate to oblong in shape. It has 5 (3-6) petals that are white to pinkish or reddish, sometimes tinged with grey. The petals are obovate in shape and 10 – 20 mm long. They have 10 elongated nectary lobes that help attract the bumblebees that visit their flowers and help spread their pollen.

There are about 10 (8-14) stamens with anthers that appear horizontally placed on top of their filaments. The ovary is 6 – 9 mm long, glabrous (without hair), or slightly hairy. The ovary has a 2 – 7 mm long style that is 2 – 5 mm wide and topped with a funnelform central stigma 2 – 6 mm in diameter that is not subtended by a ring of crowded hairs.

The fruit of Ghost Plant is a 5 segmented capsule 7 – 11 mm long and 5 – 12 mm wide with segments that persist after the seeds are dispersed. The seeds are membraneously winged and 0.5 – 1 mm long.

Similar Species Frequently Confused With

It is difficult to confuse this plant with most plants due to its ghostly white appearance. However, there is one other species found throughout most of the same range that it could be confused with. It is commonly referred to as Pinesap and its scientific name is Monotropa hypopitys or Hypopitys monotropa, depending on the source. They can be differentiated by Pinesap’s yellowish, orange, or reddish color and the fact that it rarely produces solitary flowers. Instead, the single stems end in a simple raceme of multiple flowers. Its modified leaves or bracts are also typically much darker orange or reddish in color compared to its yellowish or light orange stem. Pinesap rarely occurs white in color.

Habitat & Growing Conditions of Monotropa uniflora

Ghost Pipe or Indian Pipe is found in mixed forests, oak forests, deciduous forests, beech woods, and even occasionally in tamarack bog forests.

Since it does not require sunlight to grow it can often be found on the forest floor of even dense second-growth forests. All it truly requires is that its mycorrhizal fungi hosts are available. Because of this it is always found in humus-rich forest soil beneath the trees that are host to its fungi hosts. It is usually found in full shade but may be in part shade depending on how open the forest canopy is.

Growing Ghost Plant in Your Garden

Growing species native to your area is a great addition to your garden. Once established they require little to no maintenance of any kind. They already grow in your area without water or fertilizer, so they will easily grow in your yard if you live in their range.

However, Ghost Pipe is a different sort of plant because it requires a fungal host which requires a tree to feed it. This means you can only grow them if you have a forested yard. If you have a forested yard, and have Russulaceae fungi growing in it but no Ghost Plant you could go out and harvest some seeds from the wild (following Ethical Wildcrafting principles of course) and then scatter them around the bases of the trees where you have seen the Russulas grow and you might get lucky and start your own population of Ghost Plant.

Wildlife Values of Ghost Plant

Being an ephemeral above-ground plant with no green leaves or edible fruit no wildlife values could be found. Native bees do however visit the flowers.

Distribution of Ghost Pipe Monotropa uniflora

In Canada, Monotropa uniflora is found throughout all of the southern provinces from British Columbia east to Newfoundland and Labrador. It is also found in the Northwest Territories but is absent from the Yukon Territories and from Nunavut.

In the USA, Indian Pipe or Ghost Plant is found throughout most of the continental USA excluding only the central states of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and South Dakota. It is also found in Alaska.

In Mexico, Indian Pipe or Pipa de Indio has been reported in the Sierra Madres of Chihuahua, also in San Luis Potosi, Veracruz, Mexico State, Mexico City, Tlaxcala, Michoacan, Puebla, and Hidalgo. It seems likely that it may be present in more states, particularly through the Sierra Madres. However, as is the case with many plants in Mexico they have not been assessed in great detail.

Ghost Pipe has a disjunct distribution also appearing in the northern part of South America. It is absent through Central America and the Caribbean. It is also native to parts of temperate Asia. However, the North American, South American, and Asian populations are all genetically distinct from each other. Though the North and South American populations are more closely related to each other than either is to the Asian populations. This may result in further taxonomic division of the species in the future.

Status of Monotropa uniflora

Ghost Pipe is considered Globally Secure, G5.

In Canada, Monotropa uniflora is considered locally secure S5 in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Labrador. It is considered Apparently Secure S4 in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In Alberta and Newfoundland it is considered Vulnerable S3. No data was found on its status in the Northwest Territories, though according to Canadensys it is located there.

In the USA, Ghost Plant or Indian Pipe is considered locally secure S5 in New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, and Kentucky. It is considered Apparently Secure S4 in Montana, Iowa, and North Carolina. In North Dakota and Florida it is considered Vulnerable S3. In California it is Imperiled S2, being quite rare and confined to the northern forests in the state where it is under threat from timber harvesting. It is Critically Imperiled S1 in Alaska, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Note according to USDA Plant Database it was not currently found in South Dakota so the status there may be worse than suggested. In all other states where it was found, there is no status rank as is common with native plants in the USA where more assessments are still required.

No information on its status could be found for Mexico, again as is often the case for Mexico where more plant assessments are still required.

Traditional or Other Uses of Ghost Pipe or Indian Pipe

Monotropa uniflora Medicinal Uses

The Cherokee people used the pulverized root for children for fits, convulsions ,and seizures. The Potawatomi used an infusion of the root for various female problems.

The Cherokee also used the crushed plant on bunions and warts and they used the juice of the plant was mixed with water as a wash for sore eyes. The Thompson frequently used the crushed plant, burned stalk, or its dried and powdered form as a dermatological aid. It was particularly used for sores and wounds that were stubborn to heal.

The Cree used to chew the flowers for toothaches.

The Mohegan used an infusion of the plant and/or its roots for colds and fevers including as an analgesic for pain associated with fevers.

The Thompson peoples also used it as an indicator plant in that when they were abundant in the forest it meant that the coming mushroom harvest would also be abundant.

Since the early nineteenth century Monotropa uniflora has been used in herbal medicines as an anxiolytic to reduce anxiety. It is also used for psychosis, nervousness, irritability, restlessness, epilepsy and convulsion episodes.

Ethical Wildcrafting of Monotropa uniflora

Check the status of Ghost Plant in your province or state before harvesting since it is imperiled or vulnerable in several states and provinces. See above section on Status.

If you are harvesting Monotropa uniflora always use the 1 in 20 rule of Ethical Wildcrafting. Pick one in every 20 stems from a large healthy population, spreading your harvest around so you do not over pick in one area. Pick only as much as you will need for one year. They can be picked and placed in a basket, bowl, or paper bag.

Wildcrafting and Processing

Ghost Pipe or Indian Pipe can be used fresh upon picking or dried for later use.

To dry place them on a rack or a screen, leaving space between each stem to allow for air-flow. Because the stems are rather fleshy air-flow is going to be crucial to prevent molding. You can either place a fan in the room with them to encourage more airflow, or you can dry them in a food dehydrator on the lowest heat setting that it has.

Once dried they can be stored whole in glass jars until you are ready to use them. With all herbal medicines the best practice is to grind only a small amount at a time as needed to ensure freshness and preserve the medicinal properties.

References and Resources

Canadensys Plant Search https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/search

Dictionary of Botanical Terms – by Lyrae’s Nature Blog https://lyraenatureblog.com/blog/dictionary-of-botanical-terms/

Eflora Plants of North America http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=1

iNaturalist Plant Search https://www.inaturalist.org/home

Native American Ethnobotany http://naeb.brit.org/

Natureserve Explorer https://explorer.natureserve.org/Search

USDA Plants Database https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home

Wikipedia page on Monotropa uniflora https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora

Wikipedia picture of flower details By Staben – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8812140

Willis, Lyrae (2022).  Plant Families of North America.  Not yet published. 

Currently Seeking Funding To Continue This Non-Profit, Ad-Free Work

If you are able to donate so that I can continue this non-profit work of supplying people with scientific information on the plant families, native plants, and invasive species found throughout North America, please donate using the GoFundMe link below. Thank you!

---