Ghost of a Plant
…and a year long mystery solved – probably. The first 2 photos are from last year, taken at an isolated grave site for two War of 1812 soldiers that died on a march from Plattsburg to Sackets Harbor. The site is set back off a back road in the woods and sees few visitors, just the place for ghosts to hang out.
Last years post of the grave site and Ghost Plants
The most common name for these plants is Indian Pipe. Another is corpse plant. I prefer Ghost Plant, it rolls off my tongue a lot easier than Monotropa uniflora

The pale white translucent plants are eerie looking in the deep shadows. Without chlorophyll they do look like a ghost of a plant.
What got me last year were these specimens growing in the same location. I thought they were a different species since the others as they matured didn’t have the same appearance.

Those in the photo above weren’t nodding and certainly weren’t turning black like the others as they got old. So I did what any self respecting lazy man would do. I forgot about them. That is until I ran across some more Ghost Plants while I was hiking about the Middle Branch of the Grass River this summer.

| These made me take a second look and sure enough I’m agreeing with some of the comments on last years post. They sure do look to be the same plant. Just to make sure I peeled the outer petals from one.
I’ll swear they’re the same plant. Guess it’s OK for Mother Nature to fool me. Fool me once – shame on me, fool me twice and I guess you know what I am. But that’s OK, MN and I get along fine even though she’s a big tease. |
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