Indian Pipe

Parts Usually Used

Root, whole plant

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Indian pipe is a unique perennial plant without chlorophyll; a mass of dark, brittle, saprophytic roots produces the ivory-white, waxy stem growing 4-10 inches high and covered with scaly bracts. The stem is topped by a single, nodding, white, pipe-bowl-shaped or bell-shaped flower which turns black when bruised. The whole plant is translucent white. Scalelike leaves nearly absent.

Blooms June to October.

Where Found

Grows in dark, rich woods in the temperate and warmer parts of North America. Too scarce to harvest. Maine to the Carolinas, westward to Missouri.

Medicinal Properties

Antispasmodic, febrifuge, nervine, sedative, tonic

Legends, Myths and Stories

Once called “Ice plant” because it resembles frozen jelly, and “melts” when handled. Also called “Bird’s Nest”, in reference to the shape of the entangled root fibers.

Uses

Historically, herbalists prepared a tea from the root as a sedative and administered it for muscle spasms, fainting spells, and various fevers, occasionally using it as an alternative to quinine and opium. When combined with fennel seed, it was employed as an eyewash or applied externally to bunions and warts, as well as utilized for bladder complaints. Practitioners also soaked the plant in rose water and applied the liquid via a cloth over the eyes.

Native American traditions used the roots as an emetic and consumed a decoction of the plant for aches and pains associated with colds.

Bibliography

, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023