This Ghostly Plant is Alive and Well in Wisconsin
the Ghost Pipe Plant, is a plant – not a fungus – and it’s native to our neck of the woods
White Ghost Pipe plants have been generating buzz on social media lately. These perennial plants are easily mistaken for some type of fungi, as they grow in shaded areas close to trees and seem to have that familiar fungi shape. But upon closer inspection, you’ll see a stem, thin scale-like leaves, and a delicate, cup-shaped flower.
But why do they look like flora straight out of a Tim Burton movie? Remember back to your elementary science classes, where you learned about chlorophyll and how plants need sunlight to live? Yeah, the rebel Monotropa uniflora opted out of all that.
Ghost Pipe plants (also called Indian Pipe) survive by getting their nutrients from tree roots. Some may call this “mooching,” but scientists call it a “symbiotic relationship.”
If you want to see some Ghost Pipe plants with your own eyes locally, you’ll need to act quickly. Megan Giefer, a naturalist at Beaver Creek Reserve near Fall Creek, says the best time to see them is July and August. “I find it along the path to Big Falls County Park,’ Giefer said. “Another spot would be on the South Side (of the nature center) along the green trail, near our voyageur cabin."
Besides Beaver Creek Reserve, your best bet is to delve deep into a quiet wooded area. According to local plant ecologist Douglas Owens-Pike, “(The plant) does not tolerate disturbance. … You will not observe any blooms where there had been severe grazing or any compaction by tractors, ATVs, etc.”
And if you’re up for a day trip, wildlife photographer Martha Wright took this photo (pictured on left) of Ghost Pipe Plants in Silver Creek County Forest between Prairie Farm and Clayton.
Beaver Creek Reserve, who we contacted to learn about the plant, is dedicated to teaching locals about the environment • Learn more about Ghost Pipe plants on the U.S. Forest Service site
