Spooky flower

Pine Knot editor Jana Peterson spied these pinkish-white Indian Pipe flowers along a trail at the Cloquet Forestry Center last week. Also sometimes called a "ghost flower" or "corpse flower," the Indian Pipe can grow in the darkest forests because it has no chlorophyll and doesn't depend on photosynthesis. Not a fungus, it is a parasitic plant that survives by using nutrients from decaying plant matter and other plants, according to gardeningknowhow.com and other websites. This relative of the blueberry is commonly found near dead stumps or near beech trees, which also prefer damp, cool soil. Vern Northrup, former wildland firefighter, photographer and Fond du Lac Band member said Native Americans honor the Indian Pipe flowers "as other spirits that live among us."