#corpse plant

[aphermion]

Monotropa uniflora

[zefyyrcanfly]

Ghost pipe, Monotropa uniflora.

My first time seeing them in the wild!

[jaubaius]

BREAKING NEWS: "The upside down ballerina" has just happened at the San Diego Botanic Garden!!! These rare beauties, Amorphophallus titanum take 7-10 years to bloom. The fully opened bloom lasts about 48 hours.

[vandaliatraveler]

More late summer treasure from a short hike around Messinger Lake (a.k.a., trout pond) at Coopers Rock State Forest.

From top: the nearly ripe berries of frost grape (Vitis vulpina)*, whose fruit reaches full maturity just before the first frost of October; sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), whose dried leaves were once used as an ingredient in snuff; Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), also known as ghost plant and corpse plant, a parasitic plant that derives nutrients from trees via a mycorrhizal relationship with fungi; Appalachian ladies’ tresses (Spiranthes arcisepala), a late summer orchid found growing at the moist edges of wetlands; white wood aster (Eurybia divaricata), a late-summer perennial of Appalachia’s rich woods and clearings; a pair of eastern destroying angels (Amanita bisporigera) hiding in the ferns, an idyllic spot for these deadly beauties; a young sulphur shelf fungus (Laetiporus sulphureus), also known as chicken-of-the-woods, at prime edibility; and Appalachian oak-leech (Aureolaria laevigata), also known as entireleaf yellow false foxglove and smooth false foxglove, a partially-parasitic plant that attaches to and derives nutrients from oak tree roots while also creating energy from photosynthesis.

* Corrected the scientific name from an earlier post.

[radicalchicposts]

While reading the Wikipedia article on corpse flowers, I encountered the following impressive photograph of a 3.2 m Amorphophallus titanum (AG. “misshapen giant penis”) in Germany in 2013. Isn’t she a beaut? 

But wait, why do I feel uncomfortable whilst looking upon the “misshapen giant penis” flower? 

Oh. Oh dear. Missing eyes. 

Missing arm tattoos? 

Preserved leg tattoos. 

Someone sort of doesn’t want this person identified. I appreciate the half-assmanship and eerie results. 

[angelnumber27]

Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum (also called “corpse flower” due to the smell it emits- which mimics the smell of animal decomposition to attract pollinators) is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.

In cultivation, the titan arum generally requires 7 to 10 years of vegetative growth before blooming for the first time. After its initial blooming, there can be considerable variation in blooming frequency. Some plants may not bloom again for another 7 to 10 years while others may bloom every two to three years.

It’s truly an extraordinary plant <3

[fullmetal-optimists]

Got lucky and got to see a corpse flower blooming this past summer!

[friendofthecrows]

Picture of Monotropa uniflora (ghost plant / corpse plant / indian pipe) I took in my woods.

We always get a lot of these in our forest. We don't get much sunlight, so it makes sense that plants that don't require sun thrive here. They have a ghostly, ethereal vibe that is so pretty and comforting to me.

Also they turn blood red when they die.

***

Image ID: three stalks of a pale pipe plant with flower-like ends, black or dark red lacing the edges. They are surrounded by brown dead oak leaves and occasional thin blades of grass