Michigan residents are starting to take a heavy interest in more than just morel mushrooms, as Ghost Pipe plants are starting to sprout in forests in southwest Michigan.
There is a particular plant that is actually considered a parasitic species that is void of chlorophyll, giving it a pure white color known as Ghost Pipe or sometimes Indian Pipe.
Download the WRKR Mobile App Now
They are perennial plants that grow anywhere from 4 to 8 inches tall with white five-parted flowers, and they usually start growing between June and September throughout most of the United States, but people here in Michigan are quickly becoming interested in them.
The reason it’s considered a parasitic species is that it steals nutrients and carbohydrates from tree roots through fungus, which is how it’s able to survive without chlorophyll, according to the US Forest Service.
How Kalamazoo Students Can Get Free Supplies Before School Starts
But these plants are becoming just as popular as morel mushrooms are in the spring. With each passing year, more people are taking an interest in this plant not only for its looks, but for its supposed medicinal purposes…