Indian pipe

American  

noun

1. a leafless, pearly white, saprophytic plant, Monotropa uniflora, of North America and Asia, having a solitary white flower and resembling a tobacco pipe.

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Indian pipe British  

noun

1. a white or pinkish saprophytic woodland plant, Monotropa uniflora, of the N hemisphere, with a solitary nodding flower resembling a pipe: family Monotropaceae

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Etymology

Origin of Indian pipe

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Indian pipe

Indian pipe is a ghost of a plant: It lacks chlorophyll, so it can’t make its own food with sunlight the way most plants do.

From Slate ● May 17, 2016

There they are all together, an Indian pipe, Arabian coffee and American tobacco!

From Topsy-Turvy Land Arabia Pictured for Children by Zwemer, Samuel Marinus

Vipan flung himself on a soft thick bearskin, took a glowing stick from the fire, and pressed it against the bowl of a long Indian pipe.

From Golden Face A Tale of the Wild West by Mitford, Bertram

And often he played sweetly on his flute, hoping to charm her with his music, for he was a great player upon the Indian pipe.

From Canadian Fairy Tales by MacMillan, Cyrus

Suddenly that old harpy of crime, the mother, rushed out, holding forward the Indian pipe of peace and begging for mercy.

From The Story of the Trapper by Laut, A. C.