INDIANPIPE 



Monotro^a uniflora Linnaeus 



The weird flowers of the Indianpipe develop in warm mid- 

 summer weather after rains. The flowers rise above the forest floor 

 when most plants are past their bloom. The plants subsist upon 

 decaying vegetable matter, having a mat of rootlets under the dead 

 leaves. They have specialized away from the habits of ordinary plants, 

 having lost their chlorophyl, and are ghostly white, or sometimes 

 pale pink, with leaves that are mere scales. As the seeds mature, the 

 flowers turn upward and blacken. 



This plant is very widely distributed, being found practically 

 throughout the North American continent north of Mexico, and also 

 in Japan and the Himalayas. 



On Mount Desert Island, Maine, where this specimen was gath- 

 ered, Indianpipe grew in many localities. 



PLATE 2.61. 



