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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of Indian pipe

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95

Example Sentences

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

Stretched upon the turf about fifty yards outside the corral, puffing lazily at an Indian pipe, lay Vipan.

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

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.

That evening as Jacob sat on the three-legged stool, smoking his short Indian pipe, he again would have the whole story of their wanderings over, and the history of all their doings and contrivances.

From Canadian Crusoes by Traill, Catharine Parr Strickland

The dodder, Indian pipe, broomrape and beech-drops wear the floral equivalent of the striped suit and the shaved head.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje