University of Alberta Museums Search

Inflorescene solitary; flowers radially symmetric, simple, 14-17 mm long, waxy-white (sometimes pinkish), aging or drying black, curved to one side or drooping; bracts white; sepals 2-4, distinct, 7-10 mm long and 4-6 mm wide, lance-shaped to oblong, white, often wanting; petals commonly 5, distinct, 1-2 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm wide, broadly oblong, white to pinkish or reddish, hairless; stamens 10, anthers ellipsoid, awnless; pistils 1, ovary superior, stigma funnel form

Similar species: Hypopitys monotropa (Pinesap) Also lacks chlorophyll, but is yellowish bonze-pink and has several flowers on each stem. Monotropis odorata (Sweet Pinesap) Also has single, nodding flower, but is purplish-brown with white-yellowish or red bracts. Medical uses: Chewing the flowers has been used as a remedy for toothaches. Montropa uniflora has an interesting, highly disjunct, geographical distribution encompassing areas of North and Central America and Eastern Asia. Using gene sequencing of large ribosomal subunit (26S) rRNA, these three geographically disjunct populations of Monotropa uniflora have been shown to be phylogenetically distinct in origin (Neyland and Hennigan, 2004).

Alberta: Scattered across southern Boreal forest, north to Lake Athabasca CAN (BC, LB, MB, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK); USA (AK, AL, AR, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV); MEX; FRA (SPM); Cent. America; Asia