monotropa uniflora (ghost plant)
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Ghost Plant (Monotropa uniflora)
Family: Heath Family (Ericaceae)
IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed
Over 80% of plants form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi, linking their roots to the fungus' hyphae and providing photosynthetically produced sugars in exchange for hard-to-access nutrients that the fungus takes in from the soil. The Ghost Plant, which is found mainly in temperate shady forests across much of Asia and the Americas, also connects its roots with the hyphae of fungi (specifically members of the family Russulaceae,) but contributes nothing; it is a parasite, stealing nutrients not only from its host fungus but also from other plants (particularly birches) that its host is also connected to. Living entirely on stolen nutrients means that Ghost Plants have no need to carry out photosynthesis, and as such they lack the green pigment chlorophyll that almost all plants use to absorb sunlight, giving them their namesake eerie white appearance (although on occasion pale pink individuals are recorded) and allowing them to survive in dark, shady conditions that other plants are unable to colonise. Ghost Plants bloom rarely and unpredictably (as they do not photosynthesise they have no need for aboveground leaves or stems when not reproducing, but apparently develop stems and flowers rapidly during periods of wet weather following prolonged dry conditions,) baring a single bell-shaped white flower with a black-and-yellow interior that attracts various species of bees and flies. Following pollination the plant's tiny seeds are forced through gaps in its petals and carried away on the wind, remaining dormant in the soil they settle on until they detect a suitable host fungus growing nearby.
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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49477-Monotropa-uniflora
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Ghost plants (Monotropa uniflora) growing in Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA
by Alan Cressler
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Ghost of a Garden
For a friend who loves to add several assorted teabags into one cup and lets me try their special brew of the day.
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lesser Mexican stonecrop, sedum confusum. Palmer's sedum, sedum palmerii.
sempervivum tectorum oddity, sempervivum calcareum Mrs Giuseppe
sempervivum tectorum + calcareum
ghost plant, graptopetalum paraguayanse. sedum sunsparkler lime twister
goldmoss stonecrop, sedum acre
my outdoor plants seem completely unbothered by the frost and ice we're having now
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Monotropa uniflora, also known as ghost plant.
| Artist: Greg Shchepanek
🐌 Goblincore month on @mynocturnality
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Instagram
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propagations are happening...!!!!!
these are some ghost plant leaves (graptopetalum paraguayense) that are growing little pups.... so excited.... theyve grown so fast, the fastest propagations ive ever had ever
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Monotropa Uniflora, also known as Ghost Plant, is an herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to temperate regions of Asia, North America, and northern South America
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graptopetalum.
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I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but here’s an eldritch au version of Undergrowth. I wanted to make him look more like an ancient sage, deity, or guardian spirit of the forest. Not sure who I was talking to about this but I like the idea that Sam just so happened to find Undergrowth, who had fallen dormant for centuries, and she replanted his core. Aka the seedling he had reverted to...
He saw firsthand how much Sam loves plants so Undergrowth in turn came to care for and see Sam as a daughter. And once he regained his strength Undergrowth decided to give her powers over plant life in order to strike back at the creatures of the ‘modern world’ that were needlessly killing his beloved plants in the name of progress. Unlike the original though, Undergrowth may have a strong distaste for humans, but he’s in no rush to take over just yet because in the end all life will return to the earth from whence it came.
He’ll definitely lash out at anyone who is blatantly cruel or destructive to any plant or animal under his protection, including Sam. Plus Undergrowth would definitely get carried away after finding out exactly who bulldozed the piece of land he came from which means Vlad would be in for a sound thrashing. This Undergrowth has sense enough not to blame ALL humans for the crimes of one since Sam showed him there’s still hope left for these dangerous beasts, however, it might take them a few tries to calm his rage so he doesn’t turn Amity Park into a jungle since he’s still got a bad temper...
And lastly, I think it’d be cool to make this version a reluctant ally that only bothers to help Danny and the gang from time to time when things get REALLY bad because it’s what Sam wants and Undergrowth owes her a debt for basically resurrecting him. Sometimes though he’s sorely tempted to take her away from the city so she can enjoy building a new garden with him for them to thrive in for the rest of eternity, far from the troubles of this world, but for now, he’s content simply to watch Sam grow.
Original Undergrowth:
Plant Sam:
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'Tis whiter than an Indian Pipe –
'Tis dimmer than a Lace –
No stature has it, like a Fog
When you approach the place –
Not any voice imply it here –
Or intimate it there –
A spirit – how doth it accost –
What function hath the Air?
This limitless Hyperbole
Each one of us shall be –
'Tis Drama – if Hypothesis
It be not Tragedy –
~ Emily Dickinson
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Art Fight 2023 | 12 - Outgrowth
An attack on Red for @vague-whisperings !
Nothing is really drawn to scale, but I pulled inspiration from these plants: ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora), black raspberry, cordyceps, ghoul fungus, cockscomb, & wolfsbane.
[Backup ID: An illustration of Red, who is a thin teen with long black hair, brown skin, and red eyes. He has a muted expression of fear and pain as he claws at his own bleeding wrist; thorned blackberry brambles are sprouting from it and wrapping around his hunched figure. Monotropa uniflora, a parasitic white flower, sprouts from his palm; the other plants and fungi mentioned above are growing from the tangles of brambles. The illustration is colored in quiet grays, reds, blacks, and whites. End ID.]
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