Indian Pipe.Monotropa uniflora.Corpse Plant.
Found in dark, damp woods, from June to August.
The thick, round, flower-stem varies from 3 to 8 inches in height, and is fleshy, smooth, and clammy. Its color is white, or faintly flesh-tinted.
The small, scaly bracts, which serve for leaves, are white.
The large bell-shaped flower is formed of 5 long, narrow, fleshy white parts, whose tips flare a little. The 10 stamens are dull tawny. The flowers are nodding, usually solitary, though sometimes 2 or even 3 are grouped on one stem.
A parasitic growth on roots and decaying vegetable matter, speedily turning black when gathered, the Indian Pipe displays none of the pleasing attributes commonly associated with healthful sun-loving vegetation. It is, by nature, designed for the semi-twilight of the dark forest, and illy bears transportation into the brighter light of the open; even in the shadows of the woods, it is often found covered by dead leaves.