Ghost Pipes(c) Lee Cain · Oregon, United States · CC BY
Genus
Monotropa
Monotropa is a genus of five species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants. The genus was formerly classified in the family Monotropaceae and presently classified in Ericaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and are generally rare. Unlike most plants, they do not have chlorophyll and therefore are non-photosynthetic; they are myco-heterotrophs that obtain food through parasitism on subterranean fungi. Because they do not need any sunlight to live, they can live in very dark sites such as the floor of deep forest. The name "Monotropa" is Greek for "one turn" as every plant has one large turn near the top of the plant to a drooping tip when the plants are in flower. The type species is Monotropa uniflora.
Scientists reviewed how parasitic plants—those that steal water and nutrients from other plants—have repeatedly evolved extreme changes to their DNA, and how that knowledge can help farmers fight weedy parasites while protecting rare ones from extinction.
