Indian Pipe—
Summer Ghost of the Forest
By Carol Gracie
Page 2

Indian pipe has one relative in the same genus, pinesap (Monotropa hypopithys), which differs in color, being yellow to red, and in having several flowers per stem. The genus Monotropa was at one time placed in its own family, the Monotropaceae, and alternatively in the Pyrolaceae along with spotted wintergreen, pipsissewa, and shinleaf. Recent molecular evidence has shown all of the above to be members of the Ericaceae, the family that includes blueberries, cranberries, and rhododendron. Members of this family have long been known to be dependent on relationships with mycorrhizal fungi to obtain some of their nutrients.

Pinesap in flower

Pinesap in flower

Indian pipe is a species with what is termed a disjunct distribution. That is, it is found in parts of the world separated by great distance from its other localities. In this case, Indian pipe is found throughout most of North America (excluding the drier, desert areas), in temperate Central America extending into northern South America, in China, Japan, and the Himalayas. This odd distribution may be the result of long distance wind dispersal of its dust-like seeds or it may reflect an original contiguous distribution at the time that the Bering land bridge existed.

Pinesap fruits

Pinesap in flower

Enjoy looking for these interesting flowers over the next season.

First Indian Pipe Page

See Carol Gracie's Scenes of the Seasons - Summer

Photos Courtesy of and Copyright © Carol Gracie

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