Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

PINESAP

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Monotropa hypopithys L.

Douglas County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 2-12 inches

Family: Monotropaceae - Indian Pipe Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August, September

Stems:

Erect, unbranched, often clustered, sparsely to densely fine-pubescent, pinkish-red to yellowish-brown, turning black when dry.

Leaves:

Alternate, leaves reduced to scales, upper scales becoming bracts; scales sessile, partially clasping stem, oblanceolate, 1/6 to 2/5 inch long, 1/12 to 1/5 inch wide, sparsely to densely fine-hairy; margins irregular.

Inflorescences:

Racemes, 1-10-flowered, initially drooping, becoming erect in fruit, terminal

Flowers:

Short-stalked, red to yellowish-brown; sepals 5 on terminal flower, 4 on lower lateral flowers, strap-shaped, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, 1/25 to 1/8 inch wide, erect; corolla tubular, petals 5 on terminal flowers, 4 on lateral flowers, 1/3 to 3/5 inch long; tip rounded; base bag-shaped, inner face pubescent; stamens 8-10 (twice the number of petals), in 2 whorls, nearly equaling petals; filament slender; stigma cap-like.

Fruits:

Capsule, erect, spherical to egg-shaped, 1/5 to 1/3 inch long, 4-5-celled, surface with shallow, longitudinal, brown, style persistent; seeds many, minute, light brown.

Habitat:

Rich, moist or dry, upland woods; usually in acidic soil; associated with decaying vegetation.

Distribution:

Douglas and Cherokee counties in Kansas

Origin:

Native

Uses:

Pinesap was used as a love potion by Native Americans in British Columbia.

Comments:

Pinesap is rare in Kansas. It does not engage in photosynthesis. Instead, it is parasitic on soil-borne fungi associated with the roots of oaks and pines. Pinesap is variable in size, color, and pubescence. From Greek monos "one" and tropos "turn" alluding to the tip of the stem nodding and Greek hypo "under" and pitys "pine".

See also one-flower Indian-pipe (Monotropa uniflora).

Pinesap