Monotropa uniflora L.

  • Family

    Monotropaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Monotropa uniflora L.

  • Primary Citation

    Sp. Pl. 1: 387-388. 1753

  • Common Names

    Indianpipe, one-flower Indian-pipe, Indianpipe

  • Description

    Description: Inflorescence always with solitary flowers, white to reddish, 5-30 cm high (from root connection), 2-5 mm diam., glabrous; floral bracts elliptic to ovate 7-20 x 2-10 mm, margins entire or nearly so; pedicels short at anthesis, often somewhat elongated in fruit; floral bracts elliptic to ovate 7-20 x 2-10 mm, margins entire or nearly so. Flowers cylindric; calyx of 4-5 sepals often similar to petals, to 10 mm long; corolla of 3-6 imbricate petals, each 10-20 x 5-15 mm, pubescent within, oblong to oblanceolate, broadly saccate at base, rounded to truncate at apices, only slightly, if at all, reflexed at tip; stamens 8-14, of two series of alternating lengths, 7-15 mm long, bases clasped by elongate, slender, paired, nectariferous lobes; anthers short, appearing peltate, nearly horizontal at anthesis, to 2 mm diam., dehiscent at first by the ends of a terminal slit, often eventually gaping along the entire length; ovary 6-12 mm long, 5-9 mm diam, usually glabrous, locules 5-6; stigma broadly funnelform, 2-6 mm diam., lacking ring of subtending hairs; style stout, tapering to ovary, 2-7 x 2-5 mm. Capsule 7-11 x 5-12 mm, perianth may persist in fruit, capsular segments stout, persistent. Chromosome numbers: n=24; 2n=32, 48.

    Distribution: In the Neotropics it is disjunct from the primary North American range (Wallace, 1975a), and includes Mexico to SW Colombia; moist forest of Pinus, Abies, and Quercus at 950-3400 m. Flowering specimens have been collected in Jun-Feb but are usually found Jun-Sep.

    Type: Lectotype: Kalm s.n. (specimen 551.3 LINN accd. Reveal et al., 1987).

  • Floras and Monographs

    Monotropa uniflora L.: [Article] Luteyn, James L., et al. 1995. Ericaceae, Part II. The Superior-Ovaried Genera (Monotropoideae, Pyroloideae, Rhododendroideae, and Vaccinioideae P.P.). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 66: 560.

    Monotropa uniflora L.: [Book] Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.