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

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

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

Ledum, Monotropa and Pyrola, or the Labrador tea, the Indian pipe and wintergreen are instances of reversionary gamopetalism with free petals.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

It had a flower shape, he said, and was pink in color, but was like wax, resembling somewhat the Indian pipe, but with more open flowers and much more beautiful.

From The Lucky Piece A Tale of the North Woods by Paine, Albert Bigelow

The Indian pipe is a little, white plant, bearing a white, bell-shaped flower.

From McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader by McGuffey, William Holmes