Indian Pipe
Indian Pipe, a smooth, leafless, waxy white herbaceous plant. It is native to Asia and North America. The plant, 3 to 12 inches (8 to 30 cm) high, is shaped much like the stem and bowl of a clay tobacco pipe. Each stem is topped by a single, drooping, white or pinkish flower. The Indian pipe is colorless because it has no chlorophyll. It turns black when mature. The plant obtains nourishment from decaying organic matter.
The Indian pipe is Monotropa uniflora. Most botanists place it in the Indian pipe family, Monotropaceae, but some place it in the heath family, Ericaceae, while others place it in the wintergreen family, Pyrolaceae.