THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 9 
'be considered a true saprophyte; the third, Indian pipe, until re- 
cently regarded as truly parasitic in its mode of living, has been 
Iproved to be a true symbiot. If parasitic at all, Indian pipe 
should be a root-parasite, but it has been proved that its roots have 
;no connection whatever with the roots of other plants. Careful 
investigation has also show-n conclusively that it does not subsist 
on decomposed vegetable matter ; therefore, it cannot be a sapro- 
phyte. How then does it beg, borrow or steal its nourishment? 
It has been demonstrated that Indian pipe is a true symbiot, ''be- 
'ing in its existence closely bound up with that of another plant 
which contributes to its necessities, but is equally benefited by this 
<:onnection." The late Dr. Charles Alohr in the 'Tlant Life of Al- 
abama," states the relation as follows : "Immediately after their 
germination the rootlets of these plants are infested by the vegeta- 
tive threads or spawn (mycelium) of a fungus, which, as the 
plant develops, fastens itself upon every root, finally enveloping 
the rootstalk in a thick film, the higher plant drawing its nourish- 
ment solely from the elaborated food of the fungus." Whether 
the fungus gains anything more than a favorable site for growth 
^s a question. It may possibly receive strengthening juices from 
the hospitable root. 
So here we have a very curious state of affairs. A flowering 
plant, belonging to the highest sub-kingdom in the world, has 
formed a partnership with a member of the lowest sub-kingdom ! 
It has sold its birthright, the right to make chlorophyll and 
thereby assimilate its own food from the soil and the air, for a 
mess of pottage, and has thus enslaved itself to the lowest of the 
low. In their inflorescence and mode of reproduction Indian pipe 
(Moiiofropa) and false beech-drops (Hypopitys) are closely al- 
lied tc: the heath family (Ericaceae) . It is now known that many 
members of this family are to a greater or less degree dependent 
on the association of fungi with their root systems, the fungi tak- 
ing the place of root hairs. Therefore, it is highly probable that the 
menibers of the Indian pipe family are degraded members of the 
heath family, having carried their borrowing propensity to ex- 
tremes. It appears that the root system in their case is wholly en- 
