Down the Garden Path: Ghost of a Plant

While Halloween might be a few months away, it’s already spooky season in the woods. Today, I’ll be introducing you to Monotropa uniflora, also known as Ghost Pipe or Ghost Plant, a plant that is more vampire than ghost.

Ghost pipe is a parasitic plant that is found, though uncommonly, throughout much of the U.S. and Canada in deep, shady woodlands. A perennial plant, it grows in wooded areas in small clusters that only reach about 4- to 8-inches tall.

The stem has small, scale-like leaves and ends in a flower that usually hangs downward. Its bloom time is highly variable, occurring between June and September, usually after a rain, with the flowers only lasting one to two weeks. It is pollinated by various bee and fly species, most commonly bumblebees.

After flowering, the plant turns brown or black, leaving behind an oval capsule containing the seeds. The genus name Monotropa is Greek for “one turn,” referencing the curve of the stem into the flower, while the specific epithet uniflora is Latin for “one flower.”

It’s complicated

The first thing you notice about Ghost Pipe is the lack of chlorophyll – the stuff that usually makes plants green. In fact, because of the bright white coloration, it is frequently mistaken for a mushroom.

Chlorophyll is how most plants capture sunlight and convert it into sugars for food. Since it can’t produce its own sugar, this unique plant needs another way to obtain energy – so it just steals it!

Mushrooms in the Russula and Lactarius families use mycorrhizae to symbiotically attach to tree roots, providing minerals to the tree, while taking some sugars produced by the tree in return.

Ghost Pipes work their way into this situation parasitically and help themselves to the minerals and sugars without providing anything. Because of this complex relationship, attempting to cultivate them is almost impossible. This flower rarely survives transplanting, so take photos but do not remove plants from the wild.

For more information on gardening, check out the University of Illinois Extension website at extension.illinois.edu/plants.

Have a question for the Master Gardeners? Residents can contact the Kendall County Master Gardener volunteers from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday by calling 630-553-5823, stopping in at 7775B IL Route 47, Yorkville, or emailing uiemg-kendall@illinois.edu.

Jamie Viebach is the University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator serving DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties. Viebach’s primary areas of expertise are native plants, landscaping, pollinators and rain gardens.

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