Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Ghost Plant – fungus or flower
Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota is my go-to place for native plants and seeds that I can’t find at my local garden center. They just highlighted a very unique plant on their Facebook page that I am sharing with you today.
Ghost Pipe, Ghost Flower or Indian Pipe looks like a fungus but it’s actually a native flower.
It’s Latin name is Monotropa uniflora, is a wildflower that is actually a member of the Blueberry Family and pollinated by bumblebees. Unlike most plants, Ghost Flower lacks chlorophyll, as you can see in the photos.
The lack of chlorophyll causes the ghostly white appearance. Prairie Moon says that in some rare variations, it can appear deep red in color. You can see some pink coloring on the above photo. The photo below is from iNaturalist.
Without chlorophyll the plant cannot photosynthesize. Instead of generating food itself from sunlight, this plant parasitizes fungi, a phenomenon known as “mycoheterotrophy”. The fungi which this flower relies on (members of the Russulaceae family) form symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees. iNaturalist has a lot more photos.
The Ghost Plant is able to hijack the nutrient exchange that happens between fungi and trees.
Because of the complex ecological relationships this native plant requires to grow, propagation is extremely difficult. Although there are native populations in the woods near Prairie Moon’s headquarters, this is not a species they offer for sale. Some plants simply won’t bend to the will of the horticulture industry and only offer their enchantments if you’re willing to venture into the deep, dark forest. I love that. It’s is native to much of North America according to the US Dept. of Agriculture.
