My family & I had just gotten back from a beautiful beach getaway at the Cape in West Dennis, MA. When we got home we had a lazy day, then day two back at home we enjoyed a laid back 4th of July cookout with friends. By day 3, I was itching for an outdoor adventure! We went just a short drive from our house to go to a walking trail in the woods with my two kids & my husband, aka The Lounging Bee assistant! I found this odd white fungal looking plant, even the stems were white, it was almost glowing! As we continued our walk we found more and more of this mystery plant, even some found buried under decaying leaves.
Research Time: Interesting found facts!
When I got home, I just had to research what this glowing white plant was, which reminded me of a mushroom form of a white bleeding heart. As it turns out, this plant is a rare find, and is pollinated by BUMBLEBEES. That’s right, super weird that this is what I was attracted to in the trails, a bee friendly FLOWER plant. The plant is a flower and is named Monotropa uniflora, also known as ghost plant, ghost pipe or Indian pipe. The unique ghostly white color is due to a lack of chlorophyll. This flower is actually part of the Blueberry family and is known to taste like asparagus, ah-ha the stems totally look like asparagus [it is advised to NOT eat the plant as it is mildly toxic]. Another interesting fact, shortly after this flower is picked it is known to turn black! Yikes, this is why it is best to leave this flower in its damp, dark area to be left alone.in.nature.