Hypopitys monotropa
(formerly Monotropa hypopithys)

Pinesap

[ click on any image below to see larger version ]

Family: Ericaceae (Heath family)

Mid-Atlantic bloom time: May - October
Mid-Atlantic fruit ripe: July - November

Similar in overall appearance to Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora), but with more than one flowering head on each stalk. Like Indian Pipe, Pinesap's flowering heads droop initially, then turn upright, giving it its species name monotropa, meaning "once-turned". Two color variations exist, with yellow-tawny plants usually appearing in late spring to early summer, and pink or reddish plants appearing in the late summer to fall.

Recent DNA evidence places it in a separate genus from Monotropa.

9 June 2019 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (yellow form typical of spring & early summer)	9 June 2019 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (yellow form typical of spring & early summer)	10 September 2013 Appalachian Trail near Damascus, VA (pink/reddish form typical of autumn & late summer)	21 August 2014 Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN (pink/reddish form typical of autumn & late summer)
6 September 2018 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA	22 September 2017 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Landmark, VA	22 September 2017 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Landmark, VA	22 September 2017 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Landmark, VA
2 October 2015 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (flower heads turning upwards)	2 October 2015 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA (flower heads upturned)

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