Pyrolaceae
Wintergreen Family
Current botanists place this entire family as the
subfamily Pyroloideae in the family Ericaceae, the
Heath Family.
Pyrola elliptica
Pyrola rotundifolia
Indian Pipes (Monotropa uniflora).
Indian Pipes are strange little plants that have no
chlorophyll. They get their food by theft: they steal
it from little fungi in a process called myco-heterotrophy.
Since they have no chlorophyll, they have no
particular need for light; and they are often found
deep in the woods. They bloom in late July. As they
age (which happens very quickly), the dangling bells
of these peculiar plants turn more and more upward;
eventually, when they go to seed, they will be
completely vertical, and completely black. —Note that
Monotropa is placed in the family Ericaceae
by current botanists; we list it both there and here,
because the Check List of the Vascular Flora of
Allegheny County places it here.