Re: How does Indian Pipe influence its community ?

I'm not sure what information you already have. Indian pipe is not a 
saprophyte as many references say. It has a mycorrhizal fungus in its roots 
that allows it to obtain its energy from trees. Thus, it is a parasite usually 
on pines or oaks via the fungus or an epiparasite. However, some botanists 
think the Indian pipe/fungus might actually benefit the host tree in some way. 
For example, if the fungus gets something it needs from the Indian pipe and 
the tree gets something it needs from the fungus, then the Indian 
pipe/fungus/tree relationship could be beneficial to all three species.

You can find lots of information about Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) on the 
internet using a search engine such as google.com. If you have access to a 
good local library, you might be able to work with a librarian and obtain some 
of the scientific literature via interlibrary loan. University libraries often 
have the science citation index computer database, which is a good place to 
look for research articles. The first link below is a recent scientific 
article. You could also try contacting some of the researchers via email.



References


Extreme specificity in epiparasitic Monotropoideae (Ericaceae): widespread 
phylogenetic and geographical structure 


Monotropa uniflora, the ghost plant (also known as Indian Pipe)

Hershey, D.R. 1999. Myco-heterophytes and parasitic plants in food chains. 
American Biology Teacher. 61:575-578.


Ghosts of Summer’s Woods ‘Palpably ghastly’ to some, Indian pipe mystifies 
others.


Parasitic Plant Connection


Monotropa taxonomy