Sunday, August 07, 2005
Indian-pipe
Indian-pipe is a very curious plant - according to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon it lacks chlorophyll and acquires nutrition from the roots of a nearby coniferous tree, but it does not do so directly, but rather through a combination of plant roots and fungal filaments called a mycorrhiza.
I found these in the forest perhaps 100 feet from the Middle Fork Willamette twenty some miles upstream from Oakridge, nestled in among where a camp latrine had been.
These have a different appearance than in
photos I've found around on the web, but reading further from PPN:
I believe these are truly Indian-pipe. The nub at the end of the flower looks the same, and these, looking older, have perhaps already fruited. Hmm, more research
is needed.
Indian-pipe is a very curious plant - according to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon it lacks chlorophyll and acquires nutrition from the roots of a nearby coniferous tree, but it does not do so directly, but rather through a combination of plant roots and fungal filaments called a mycorrhiza.
I found these in the forest perhaps 100 feet from the Middle Fork Willamette twenty some miles upstream from Oakridge, nestled in among where a camp latrine had been.
These have a different appearance than in
photos I've found around on the web, but reading further from PPN:
GENERAL: Flashy, waxy-white or pinkish perenniel, blackening with age, appearing in clusters of flowering, unbranched stems 5-25 sm tall.
I believe these are truly Indian-pipe. The nub at the end of the flower looks the same, and these, looking older, have perhaps already fruited. Hmm, more research
is needed.
# posted by the Robot Vegetable @ 1:20 PM 
