More Wildflowers in the Watershed: The Public Access Boat Ramp

Do you see them growing all along the forest floor under the many large Eastern White Pines?



Do you know these two - the white and the yellow?



According to the Connecticut Botanical Society,

this white flower is commonly called an Indian Pipe (Latin name: Monotropa uniflora)

Indian pipe, has no chlorophyll, so it cannot obtain energy from sunlight. Instead, it gets nutrients from organic matter in the soil.

• Family: Indian-pipe (Monotropaceae)
• Habitat: woods, in leafy humus
• Height: 4-10 inches
• Flower size: 3/4 inch long
• Flower color: white
• Flowering time: June to September
• Origin: native



A relative is the yellow Pinesap, Monotropa hypopithys

Pinesap plants that bloom in summer tend to be yellow, while those that bloom in fall are reddish. Pinesap, like its relative Indian pipe has no chlorophyll, so it cannot obtain energy from sunlight. Instead, it gets nutrients from organic matter in the soil.

• Family: Indian-pipe (Monotropaceae)
• Habitat: woods, usually in acid soil
• Height: 4-15 inches
• Flower size: 1/2 inch long
• Flower color: pale yellow to reddish
• Flowering time: June to October
• Origin: native

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/monotropahypo.html