INDIAN PIPE 
(Ericaceae) 
Monotropa uniflora Linn. 
A white, scapose, succulent plant growing usually in clusters from a mass 
of matted, brittle roots, attached to partially decayed organic matter in the 
soil, stems 4-10 inches high, erect, each with a solitary nodding, terminal, 
inodorous, oblong-campanulate flower, one-half to 1 inch long; the fruit, 
which is a 5-celled, many-seeded capsule becoming erect; sepals 2-4, decid- 
uous; petals 4-5 (rarely 6), puberulent within, white, somewhat longer than 
the stamens which are usually ten in number; ovary ovoid, acute, narrowed 
into the short, thick style and funnelform stigma. 
In moist, rich woods, Anticosti to Florida, west to Washington and 
California. 
The Indian pipe or corpse-plant, as it is frequently known, is one of the 
few flowering plants which possesses a saprophytic habit, and is in conse- 
quence devoid of green leaves or green color in the stems. 
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