intake of food in indian pipe
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Indian Pipe Plant
Indian Pipe (Monotropa Uniflora)
Proving date: October 2011
Proving completed by: Misha Norland, Mani Norland & The School of Homeopathy
Common names: Indian pipe, Ice-plant, Bird's nest, Fit-plant, Ova-ova, Pipe-plant, Ghost-flower, Corpse-plant.
Read full proving: Indian Pipe (Monotropa Uniflora)
Read proving physical symptoms: Monotropa Uniflora Physicals
About the plant
A Plant Reclassified Into the Family Ericaceae.
The Indian Pipe was originally classified into the family Monotropaceae, but after further research was reclassified to be included in the Ericaceae family of plants (heaths). Heaths are herbs, shrubs and trees that thrive in acidic soil, like cranberry, blueberry, azalea and rhododendron, and are known to have the same kind of relationship with mychorrhizal fungi.
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.