It has rained here 6 out of 7 days a week for two months. The bees have suffered to the point where think that I’ve lost a hive. I went out this morning and on the path back to the beehives I discovered these Flowers of Cthulhu. They are plants, not fungi, that grow in the dirt under pine trees, but they have no chlorophyll. They spring up in wet weather.
2 Comments
they are incredible they look like glass snowdrops. I've never heard of them before, thanks for this.
I don’t think they are Corpse ‘Flowers’ (those are so named because they smell like … well, you know) or Flowers of Cthulhu. I looked up both of those and these are not them. However, they *are* also called “corpse plant”.
What they ARE, officially, are these:
“White Indian Pipes” (Monotropa uniflora)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora
(good pics)
http://friendsofsleepingbear.org/wildflower-database/white/indian-pipe/ (more good photos)
“Indian Pipe is a parasitic plant lacking chlorophyll, which is why it has no coloration. It turns black with age or if picked. It doesn't make food for itself like other plants but gets its food from dead or decaying plant material through a mutually beneficial fungal relationship. It often grows in small clumps, but can grow alone.”
So pretty! :)