What ghost is seen in shaded woods?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
January 30, 2003
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Suggested Reading – Plus Blueberry, Azalea, & more—>Click here.
Ericaceous plants—blueberries, azaleas, heathers, and heaths—have symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. The subterranean fungal partners extract and transfer nutrients to the roots of the ericaceous plants, the plants in turn provide photosynthates (products of photosynthesis--sugars, starches) to the fungus. Many plants like conifers have similar arrangements for attaining nutrients. ( See Renfield's Garden, December 26, 2001)
One group of the ericaceous plants, the Monotropoideae (subfamily of Ericaceae) or Monotropaceae (given their own family) has taken the fungal relationship a step further. Typical of the group are the Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora Linnaeus) native to North America, Japan, and the Himalayas. These wildflowers are found in deeply shaded deciduous or coniferous forests. In Florida, they are associated with upland (scrub) oaks and pines.
Indian pipes live most of their lives underground; the plants have no chlorophyll. They were once thought saprophytes, living on decaying matter. The only time these 'pale ghosts' are seen is in summer when they flower. The flowering scapes arise from the litter of the forest floor, each bearing a single nodding flower at the tip.
The minute seeds germinate and seek a fungal host in a symbiotic relationship with a photosynthesizing plant. The Indian pipe roots attach to the hyphae of a fungus (Hymenoscythus ericae or Pezizella ericae, probably other fungi also) and take the photosynthates they need. The fungus received the photosynthates from its green partner. Indian pipes are now believed parasites since they apparently do not manufacture anything of use to the fungus.
Janet Novak and Eleanor Saulys of the Connecticut Botanical Society have taken great photographs of Indian pipes. To view the photographs, click on the link:
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/monotropaunif.html
Series: | 1 | | 2 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Why was this herb called a corpse? What's in a Name? - January 31, 2003
What flower glows in the dark? Weird Plants - October 24, 2002
Miss Willmott's ghost What's in a Name? - March 7, 2003
Why ghosts gather at breadfruit trees Herbal Folklore - August 18, 2003
What does peony have to do with poetry? What's in a Name? - May 2, 2003
What surprises were found in sweet flag's DNA? Weird Plants - May 16, 2002
Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum Linnaeus) Plant of the Week - February 24, 2003
Blueberries, Bluecrop (Jumbo)
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[More Small Fruit & Berries...]
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Top Hat Blueberries
Springhill Nursery®
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