I was looking for bumble bees, and found them visiting—to my amazement—indian pipe. I had visited this spot close to the water’s edge along the North Shore many, many times over the years and had never seen indian pipe there before. Indeed, the only place I had seen indian pipe in recent years was deep in the forest of Pilot Bay Provincial Park.
More pictures of indian pipe and a description of the plant is offered on the main website under Wildflower Oddities.
Although it looks like a fungus, indian pipe is indeed a plant, but one that lacks chlorophyll and so cannot manufacture its own carbohydrates. Rather, it obtains carbohydrates from another plant (such as a tree) through a fungal intermediary. This tactic enables it compete successfully on the dark forest floor where little sunlight penetrates.
It may be a testimony to the cloudy and rainy spring we have had, that it appeared along the West Arm at a spot where I had never seen it before.
Ghostly and beautiful, the flowers and stems of the indian pipe lack chlorophyll.
These ones were growing in a shady spot close to the lakeshore.
This blurry picture shows a bumble bee visiting the indian pipe flower.
