
09 Jul Ghost Pipe, aka Indian Pipe, wildflower is rare, mystical and appears above ground just one week each year
Updates for 2021: Ghost pipe / Indian pipe is plant with no chlorophyll; found in most U.S. states
Wandering Rose Travels readers like one oddity of nature … in fact they liked, commented and shared it 12,600 times! Our Ghost Pipe (or Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe or Corpse Plant) wildflower post is by far the most popular in our three years on Facebook.
It’s not unusual for our posts to reach 10,000-20,000 viewers and receive 1,000-ish reactions. But the Ghost Pipe post blew those numbers away with 123,000 views and more than 1,700 shares.
Never heard of this wildflower? Neither had we until hiking in July with contributor Jim Tobalski. A perpetual student of plants, wildlife and birds, Jim teaches us to fully appreciate and be aware of all that is around us when hiking. On a recent hike we were on high alert after after seeing reports of sightings of the rare plant Ghost Pipe.
We were lucky to discover two different groupings while hiking abandoned logging roads in Ashe County, North Carolina. We don’t claim to be botanists or any kind of wildflower expert, but we’ve learned a lot by researching reputable internet sites and hearing from Wandering Rose followers who commented on the post.
Update: We hiked the same area in June 2021 and discovered many groups of these rare plants in different parts of the property. Often these rare flowers hide among ferns or other forest foliage so you have to look carefully and maybe move some fern leaves if you spot an area that seems conducive to supporting this beauty.

Ghost Pipe appears above ground for just one week
Ghost Pipe is known by many names, most commonly Indian Pipe, Corpse Plant (it turns black after blooming) or monotropia uniflora for those in the know. While Ghost Pipe grows wild in most of the United States (except the Southwest), sightings are rare and each plant blooms for just one week annually. The other 51 weeks each year this mysterious plant lives completely underground. Unlike most plants, it contains no chlorophyll, giving it a “ghostly” translucent image and its name.
For the most part, plants make food from the sun’s energy through photosynthesis and chlorophyll. I’ll stop the explanation here, or my plant ignorance will become apparent. A few including Ghost Pipe belong to a clan called heteromycotroph, getting nutrients from soil fungus that in turns gets its nutrients from the roots of mature trees in forests.
Leaves, stalk and flower are all a ghostly translucent white, ranging in height from 4 to 12 inches tall. Each steam bears a single flower, which points down like a pendant on emergence from the ground. As the flower matures it gradually becomes upright before releasing its seeds and withering away. This process is one week from beginning to end and the plant blooms from late June to September depending on location.








Emily Dickinson calls Ghost Pipe “the preferred flower of life”
Poet Emily Dickinson called Ghost Pipe “the preferred flower of life” and her first book of poetry features it on the cover.
Many proclaim its healing power, including several Facebook post responders who use Ghost Pipe medicinally. Long before Europeans arrived, native North American Indian tribes used the plant as medicine. Cherokee tribes reportedly used the root to prevent convulsions; Mohegans used the plant as a pain killer and Cree chewed the flower as a toothache cure.
Ghost Pipe sightings are reported by Facebook post viewers across much of the United States. Many remember seeing the plant as a child but not in adult life. One reader recalled the plan was so unique even 60 years ago that a magazine did a photo essay on flowers growing above her grandfather’s garage.
Another reader remembers going in the West Virginia woods as a child each year with her grandmother who always knew when and where to find Ghost Pipe. Others shared photos they had taken plant, some not knowing what they were seeing prior to our post. Ghost Pipe is actually kin to blueberries, though I have no idea how. I simply pass along with the scientists say. A common theme with everyone is a great respect for this wonder of nature. Even those not knowing what they were seeing knew they had discovered something unique and mystical.
If you have photos or stories about Ghost Pipe please share with us via the comments section below. We will include them in a future Facebook post.
And if oddities of nature are your thing, check out this article on meat-eating plants to continue your education.

Kelley SteMarie
Posted at 09:26h, 07 AugustOmggg I found these last year very very few… for about 2 months in one area… I’m on Obsessed!! Today walking the dog I saw at least HUNDREDS😳
admin
Posted at 09:02h, 10 NovemberIt is interesting that once you know what they look like you get very good at finding them.
Mike bell
Posted at 12:17h, 11 SeptemberI find ghost pipes here in Pennsylvania the June and early July but I am also finding it in mid September
admin
Posted at 09:01h, 10 NovemberInteresting. Thanks for sharing the info
Linda A Rajaniemi
Posted at 19:16h, 12 SeptemberI have tons of ghost pipes on my lakeside property. In the woods a d on the edges if my lawn. They bloom for at least three weeks before dying back, so your one week info is wrong!
admin
Posted at 09:01h, 10 NovemberThanks for the info. What part of the country are you in? Never heard of blooms lasting for three weeks!
Thomas H Ready
Posted at 21:07h, 26 OctoberI saw them as a child in effingham County Illinois
I’m gonna be on the lookout next year a little north of there.
admin
Posted at 09:00h, 10 NovemberKeep us posted… hope you find them
Warren Woodward
Posted at 01:57h, 10 NovemberJust found a large patch of pipes today here in N.Florida. We are using Apple Cider vinegar as a tincture base and will let it set for about 4 or 5 weeks before straining it and using the tincture for pain relief. These plants are very delicate to look at but have a reputation as being as strong as Opium but non- addictive.
admin
Posted at 09:00h, 10 NovemberThanks for your comment
Leonor McGinn
Posted at 15:19h, 21 OctoberI have been living in Durham, Maine for 13 years . While walking on my property in the woods I came across this plant. As I am very curious, I researched it with a plant identifying Ap. I further my researched and collected the tips of the plant, placed in in Vodka, let them release their magic.
I have chronic arthritis pain , I had insomnia. I began to take 3 drops with magic pain reliever and relaxed me enough to have a fairly good night sleep.