Monotropa uniflora
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae}}
{{For|other plants known as "ghosts"|Ghost plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Indian pipe PDB.JPG
|image_caption = Growing in the
Redwood National Forest
| status = G5
| status_system = TNC
|genus = Monotropa
|species = uniflora
|authority = L.
}}
Monotropa uniflora, also known as ghost plant, ghost pipe, or Indian pipe, is an herbaceous, parasitic, non-photosynthesizing, perennial flowering plant native to temperate regions of Asia, North America, and northern South America, but with large gaps between areas.{{cite journal |last1=Neyland |first1=Ray |last2=Hennigan |first2=Melissa K. |year=2004 |title=A Cladistic analysis of Monotropa uniflora (Ericaceae) inferred from large ribosomal subunit (26S) rRNA gene sequences |journal=Castanea |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=265–271 |doi=10.2179/0008-7475(2004)069<0265:ACAOMU>2.0.CO;2|s2cid=86010737 |doi-access=free }}{{cite web | url= http://www.wildflowersearch.com/search?&PlantName=Monotropa+uniflora | last= Sullivan | first= Steven. K. | date= 2018 | title= Monotropa uniflora | website= Wildflower Search | access-date= 2018-08-19 }} The plant is waxy white, but some specimens have been described as having black flecks or pale pink coloration.David Matthews [http://graingenes.org/IndianPipes "Indian Pipes, Ithaca NY"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905012125/http://graingenes.org/IndianPipes |date=2012-09-05 }} Rare variants may have a deep red color. The name "Monotropa" is Greek for "one turn" and "uniflora" is Latin for "one flowered" as there is one sharply curved stem for each single flower. M.uniflora is commonly found growing in clumps of 2 or more, with its fungal source nearby.
Description
The stems reach heights of {{Convert|5|–|30|cm|frac=2}}, sheathed with highly reduced leaves {{Convert|5|–|10|mm|frac=16}} long, best identified as scales or bracts. These structures are small, thin, and translucent; they do not have petioles but instead extend in a sheath-like manner out of the stem.
As its scientific name suggests, and unlike the related Monotropa hypopitys (but like the close relation Monotropastrum humile), the stems bear a single flower {{Convert|10|–|20|mm|abbr=on|frac=16}} long, with 3–8 translucent petals, 10–12 stamens and a single pistil.{{cite web | url= http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Monotropa%20uniflora | editor-last= Klinkenberg | editor-first= Brian | date= 2017 | title= Monotropa uniflora | website= E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. | publisher= Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver | access-date= 2018-08-19 | archive-date= 2021-01-20 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210120040334/http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Monotropa%20uniflora | url-status= dead }}{{cite web | url= http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Monotropa%20uniflora | editor-last= Giblin | editor-first= David | date= 2018 | title= Monotropa uniflora | website= WTU Herbarium Image Collection | publisher= Burke Museum, University of Washington | access-date= 2018-08-19}}{{cite web | url= http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=Monotropa%20uniflora | date= 2018 | title= Monotropa uniflora | website= in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora | publisher= Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley | access-date= 2018-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Wildflowers_Kimonis_Kramer/PAGES/INDIANPIPE_PAGE_FINAL.html|title=Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) Species Page|website=www.bio.brandeis.edu|access-date=2018-07-06|archive-date=2021-06-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618092659/http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Wildflowers_Kimonis_Kramer/PAGES/INDIANPIPE_PAGE_FINAL.html|url-status=dead}} It flowers from early summer to early autumn, often a few days after rainfall. The fruit, an oval capsule-like structure, enlarges and becomes upright when the seeds mature. Past maturity the stem and capsule look desiccated, and dark brown or black with a brittle texture.
The seeds of M. uniflora are small, ranging between {{Convert|0.6–0.8|mm|abbr=on|frac=128}} in length.{{cite journal |last1=Olson |first1=A. Randall |title=Seed Morphology of Monotropa Uniflora L. (Ericaceae) |journal=American Journal of Botany |date=July 1980 |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=968–974 |doi=10.1002/j.1537-2197.1980.tb07728.x |bibcode=1980AmJB...67..968O }} Once the plant has been pollinated, the seeds are pushed through the petals in a tiny slit and dispersed via wind methods.
Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain chlorophyll.{{Cite book |last=Fagan |first=Damian |title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert |publisher=FalconGuides |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2 |location=Guilford, CT |page=45 |oclc=1073035766 }} Instead of generating food using the energy from sunlight, it is parasitic, and more specifically a mycoheterotroph. Its hosts are in the Russulaceae family. Most fungi are mycorrhizal, meaning that they grow symbiotically in association with tree roots. Through the fungal web of mycorrhizae, the M. uniflora roots ultimately sap food from where the host fungi are connected to the photosynthetic trees. The clustered node roots of this plant are covered in hairs called cystidium. The cystidia found on these roots allow easy attachment to fungi hyphae, such as can be seen in ectomycorrhiza.{{cite journal |last1=Massicotte |first1=H. B. |last2=Melville |first2=L. H. |last3=Peterson |first3=R. L. |title=Structural features of mycorrhizal associations in two members of the Monotropoideae, Monotropa uniflora and Pterospora andromedea |journal=Mycorrhiza |date=March 2005 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=101–110 |doi=10.1007/s00572-004-0305-6 |pmid=15490255 |bibcode=2005Mycor..15..101M |s2cid=22755260 }} Since it is not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments like in the understory of dense forests.{{Cite web |title=Indian Pipe |url=http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/indianpipe.htm}} The complex relationship that allows this plant to grow makes propagation difficult.
= Genetics =
M. uniflora is found in three general distribution areas: Asia, North America, and Central and northern South America. DNA analysis has shown that these three populations are genetically distinct from one another. Furthermore, the North American population and the Central/South American population appear to be more closely related to each other than either are related to the Asian population.
The species has 48 chromosomes.{{cite journal |last1=Maloney |first1=Kathleen |last2=Finocchio |first2=Alfred F. |title=Chromosomes of Monotropa uniflora |journal=Journal of Heredity |date=November 1981 |volume=72 |issue=6 |pages=458 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a109563 }}
Taxonomy
It was formerly classified in the family Monotropaceae, but is now included within the Ericaceae. It is of ephemeral occurrence, depending on the right conditions (moisture after a dry period) to appear full grown within a couple of days.
Ecology
The flowers of M. uniflora are visited by various bee and fly species, most commonly bumblebees.{{cite journal |last1=Klooster |first1=Matthew R. |last2=Culley |first2=Theresa M. |title=Comparative analysis of the reproductive ecology of Monotropa and Monotropsis : Two mycoheterotrophic genera in the Monotropoideae (Ericaceae) |journal=American Journal of Botany |date=July 2009 |volume=96 |issue=7 |pages=1337–1347 |doi=10.3732/ajb.0800319 |pmid=21628282 }} Bumblebees are an important pollen dispersal agent for the plant, crawling into the flower for pollen.
Like most mycoheterotrophic plants, M. uniflora associates with a small range of fungal hosts, all of them members of Russulaceae.{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=S. |last2=Pfister |first2=D. H. |year=2006 |title=Monotropa uniflora plants of eastern Massachusetts form mycorrhizae with a diversity of russulacean fungi |journal=Mycologia |volume=98 |issue=4 |pages=535–540 |doi=10.3852/mycologia.98.4.535 |pmid=17139846}}
It is often associated with beech trees.
Toxicity
Uses
In addition to various reported medical uses, the plant has been used as an anxiolytic in herbal medicine since the late 19th century.{{cite book |last1=Wickes Felter |first1=Harvey |last2=Uri Lloyd |first2=John |title=King's American dispensatory |date=1898 |publisher=Ohio Valley Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/kingsamericandis02kinguoft/page/1277 1277] |edition=19th 3rd rev |url=https://archive.org/details/kingsamericandis02kinguoft}} This may be due to the plant containing salicylic acid.{{cite web |title=Monotropa Uniflora |url=https://www.mayernikkitchen.com/medicinal-plants/ghost-pipe |website=Mayernick Kitchen}}
Walter H. Prest described the plant as having an asparagus-like flavor once cooked.{{cite book |last1=Bedford |first1=Walter |title=Edible Wild Plants of Nova Scotia |date=1905-03-19 |publisher=Nova Scotian Institute of Science |pages=413 |edition=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urrd55sy9ikC&dq=Proceedings+of+the+Nova+Scotian+Institute+of+Science,+Volume+11+prest&pg=PA387}}
= Cultural references =
M. uniflora has been featured in several pieces from renowned American poet Emily Dickinson.{{cite journal |last1=Mallonee |first1=Barbara C. |title=Leaving Latitude: Emily Dickinson and Indian Pipes |journal=The Georgia Review |date=1999 |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=223–244 |jstor=41401686 }}
The Cherokee of North America feature the "pipe plant" in some of their creation stories. The legend states that the plant was named "Indian pipe" due to a group of chiefs quarreling without resolution, while passing a pipe around during the dispute; the Great Spirit then turned the chiefs into the plant, as they should have smoked the sacred pipe after making peace with each other. The plant is said to grow wherever friends have quarreled.{{cite web |last1=Arneach |first1=Lloyd |title=The Cherokee Story of Indian Pipe |url=https://wsharing.com/WSphotosIndianPipe.htm#:~:text=Indian%20Pipe%20grows%20wherever%20friends,to%20live%20together%20in%20peace. |website=w.sharing}}{{cite book |last1=Chiltoskey |first1=Mary |title=Cherokee Plants: Their Uses - A 400 Year History |date=2002-01-02 |publisher=Cherokee Publications}}{{cite web |last1=Arneach |first1=LLoyd |title=Indian Pipe Legend |url=http://backwoodsadventures.org/blog/2017/9/7/indian-pipe-legend |website=Backwoods Adventures|date=7 September 2017 }}
Gallery
{{gallery|mode=packed
|M. uniflora.jpg|M. uniflora
|Indian Pipe - Stem Detail Macro.jpg|Stem detail
|Monotropa uniflora 3277.JPG|The alternate leaves
|M. uniflora macro shot..jpg|Flower near Kearney, Ontario, Canada
|Indian Pipe - Flowering Part Macro.jpg|Detail of flowers
|Monotropa uniflora 3270.JPG|Each of ten anthers open via two curving slits.
|Indianpipes.jpg|Plant displaying its common
light pink coloring
|Pink indian pipes.jpg|Displaying a pink coloration
|Red indian pipes.JPG|A rare red coloration
|Monotropa uniflora in numbers.jpg|Growing at Puget Sound, Washington
|Ghost Pipe Monotropa uniflora Seed Heads.jpg|Autumn seed heads, Pennsylvania
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons-inline|Monotropa uniflora|Monotropa uniflora}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120905012125/http://graingenes.org/IndianPipes/ "Indian Pipes, Ithaca NY"] is a photo chronology of their development through the season.
- Several images are available from the [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MOUN3&photoID=moun3_003_avp.tif USDA PLANTS Profile].
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1156848}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Flora of Southern America
Category:Flora of Northern America