Ghost flowers are some of nature’s most hauntingly beautiful plants, known for their ghostly pale white appearance and their unique ability to survive without sunlight or photosynthesis. These botanical ‘spectres’ pop up in shaded forests.
What is a ghost flower?
Ghost flower is the common name for ‘Monotropa uniflora’, also called ‘ghost plant’, ‘Indian pipe plant’, ‘corpse plant’, or ‘ice plant’. Unlike typical green plants, ghost flowers are almost always pure white or pinkish white due to the absence of chlorophyll — the pigment used by plants for photosynthesis. For some lucky observers, rare red varieties may be spotted too.
How do ghost flowers survive without chlorophyll?
Instead of making their own food from sunlight, ghost flowers rely on a completely different tactic — hijacking underground fungi for sustenance. These fungi are connected to tree roots and help exchange nutrients.
The ghost flower inserts itself into this partnership and steals carbon and nutrients, living as a parasite in the forest’s networking system, as per a report by Science.org. Because they don’t need sunlight, they thrive in deep, dark woods.
Bumblebees are the main pollinators of ghost flower.
Why you won’t find it in your garden
Despite their alluring appearance, ghost flowers are nearly impossible to transplant or propagate, as their survival depends on a very specific underground fungal network unavailable in most gardens. They are best appreciated in the wild, where their pale stems can be spotted poking through the leaf litter in summer or early autumn.
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