Meet the Ghost Pipe, Nature's Oddball

It may be 90 degrees outside, but it looks like Mother Nature is already thinking Halloween! This spooky looking bit of flora is ghost plant, also known as ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora L.)

Ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora L.) by Sandra Vaughn-Pottorff

Although often mistaken for a fungus, ghost pipe is actually a native wildflower. It gets its ghostly appearance from the lack of chlorophyll in its tissue, which also means it belongs to small group of plants that do not need photosynthesis to survive. Instead, ghost pipe "steals" nutrients from nearby tree roots through the fungi that helps the trees absorb food and water from the soil. This is an example of parasitization.

Ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora L.) by Sandra Vaughn-Pottorff

Ghost pipe prefers high quality woodland areas—usually made up of maples or oaks—with soil rich in decomposed leaves and plant material. In this case, it was found at Kishwaukee Gorge North Forest Preserve in an area that our Natural Resources team worked hard to restore this past winter. Ghost pipe can be somewhat rare in our area, so its presence is an exciting indicator of increased habitat health!