There is a Cherokee legend about the Indian Pipe: Long ago, when selfishness first entered the world, people began quarreling, first with their own families and tribal members, and then with other tribes. The chiefs of the several tribes met together to try to solve the problem of quarreling. They smoked a peace pipe together, while continuing to quarrel among themselves for the next seven days and seven nights. In punishment for smoking the peace pipe before actually making peace, the Great Spirit turned the chiefs into grey flowers and made them grow where relatives and friends had quarreled. Since Indian Pipe has no chlorophyll, it cannot photosynthesise its own food like most plants. Therefore, it has to obtain nutrients from another organism. The way it does this is by having its roots tap into the mycelia of a fungus. Meanwhile, the fungus’s mycelia tap into the host-tree's roots. Many fungi and trees have this type of relationship - it's called a "mycorrhizal relationship." These plants are classed as "epiparasite" or "mycoheterophyte." The plant benefits by more efficient mineral (especially phosphorus) uptake. The fungus benefits by the sugars translocated to the root by the plant. Both organisms help each other out. Indian Pipe, however, does not appear to give anything back to the fungus or the tree. It takes nutrients from the fungus that it had received from the tree. Since the fungus then has to take more nutrients from the tree, this makes Indian Pipe a parasite of both the fungus and the tree. #indianpipe #pipeplant #indianpipeplant #indianpipeflower (at Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzrjnxgAUwx/?igshid=17d0611lwyptq
