They are parasitic and as far as I know noone has grown them. I had a few years ago, but they have not appeared laely.

A friend sent me some indian pipes last spring. They "survived" for a few weeks before turning black and dying back. I am asumming they have alot more going on under the soil than they do usually above the soil. I have read they only come out when its especially wet. You might have them one wet year and not for a few more until you get the right conditions again.

waplummer, they arent parasitic. They live off of fungus and some stuff found in good (duff) soil.
NOT parasitic.

here's a couple of links

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

http://dawson.nu/indian-pipes.html

My 2 cents,

Paula

"Some botanists believe that the roots work in symbiotic conjunction with certain soil fungi to supplement its diet with food from live tree roots, which would make the plant a parasite as well as a saprophyte."

-http://dawson.nu/indian-pipes.html

Not one to attempt bareroot that's for sure. Where they are common, you'll find many. In New York state (where I grew up) they are quite common. Not sure about their protection status, check with state guidelines. Interestingly enough there are alot here in Japan as well although I doubt its the same species. Morphologically they look identical to me.

I think the key word here would be BELIEVE... reread it.

""Some botanists believe that the roots work in symbiotic conjunction with certain soil fungi to supplement its diet with food from live tree roots, which would make the plant a parasite as well as a saprophyte."

I've READ (and NO that doesnt make me an expert!) that it survives on dead stuff from the soil. I CAN tell you that the ones I had, came barerooted and managed to survive for a number of weeks before it got real hot and dry and died back. That would indicate TO ME that since they weren't sucking the life out of a tree via it's roots that my good black humus rich soil was doing the trick for it.

That's just *MY* 2 cents!
Paula

They only LIVED for a number of WEEKS?

Sorry for the last post...here are some of the Japanese ones in bloom now:

{{gwi:1352359}}

Looks identical to the one in the states

PF :)

Hello All,

I relocated Monotropa uniflora Indian Pipe from one location on my land to another with excellent results.

Here in the Adirondacks I see the Indian Pipes growing in many woodland locations most often in a fairly moist conditions and dappled shade locations.

When transplanting the plants I dig the Indian Pipes with as much of the soil intact around the root systems of the plants as possible. I find using a garden towel and digging out about 4 to 6 inches away from the main stem of the plants and about 4 to 6 inches deep works well. I then use a small garden sholve to remove the clump. I transplant the plants into a well prepared site. I usually dig a planting hole about 8 inches deep and 1 ft sq. I add a great deal of 'well' decayed roots of pine (is very moisture retaining, rich brown color, smells great and is very soft) and/or well decayed beech or maple wood/roots as well as a little leaf mould. I add this to the bottom of the planting hole and I place the clump of Indian Pipe in the planting hole and I add more of the decayed wood/root mixed with soil from the planting hole and fill in around the clump until the plant is planted at its previous level. I always apply a mulch or transplant some moss over the area and I water well the first time after transplanting.

I also have transplanted mushrooms using the same methods and in my experience works very well. :)

I got some seeds in a trade last fall...and am going to plant them this weekend under my silver maple..plenty of tree roots, michorizzal fungi, leaf mould, etc. I hope they come up! I've never seen these in the wild, and I envy those of you who have! April

can u send me some seeds or tell me where i could get them?

I've just collected seeds from a few Indian Pipe flower stalks on our property. It will be an experiment indeed to germinate them in the same soil type they were growing in!
The trees around them are Paperbark Birch, Maple and Pine.
Wonder which one is, or is it all, that are the hosts, if that is the means of their growth? We've had a very wet summer. So seeing the 'Corpse Plant' this year is a novelty!

So happy to see an Indian Pipe in my yard after 23 years of working to create a woodland. Have only seen it once before in the Lady Bird Johnson redwood grove near where I live. I have had amanitas, small brown mushrooms and a white one that looked like a cross between coral and cauliflower which is edible, but has declined in recent years despite my not taking it.

Monotropa uniflora IS a parasite. Specifically, it is a mycoheterotroph- it parasitises off of multiple fungi species that form mycorhizzal symbiotic relationships with trees. It is white and lacks chlorophyll, and therefore cannot produce it's own energy via photosynthesis.

It would be extremely hard to cultivate in a private garden. You would need to form the right mycorhizzal relationship between the right tree (to produce the right amount of nutrients to be supplied to the plant through the mycelium's hyphae) and the right fungi (specific Rasullaceae spp.), and then all the right growing conditions would have to be perfect for all three species, two plantae and one fungi. I have never heard of this happening in a private garden.

sources:
Yang, S.; Pfister, D. H. (2006). "Monotropa uniflora plants of eastern Massachusetts form mycorrhizae with a diversity of russulacean fungi". Mycologia 98 (4): 535��"540

BSc Mycology

The problem then is one of connotations. Many, I suspect, see the word 'parasite' and recoil in horror at the thought of some organism not "paying it's way" through life! In fact, species such as this are a part of the web of life so prominent in rich woodlands. There is simply no "problem" created as a result of the presence of this non-chlorophyte where it occurs.

In my cedar swamp, they have appeared in huge numbers this spring, evidently responding to the high rainfall and mostly cool temps. But I've seen them in upland situations too, across N. WI and MI's Upper Penninsula. IMO, a fascinating example of nature's ability to fill every niche.

+oM