8/12/13 – One of our favorite customers, Hanna Zmijewska-Emerson, came up for a canoe trip over the weekend and shared this great picture of a cluster of ghost flowers. These flowers lack chlorophyll (hence the lack of color) and are known by a variety of names including; corpse plant, Indian pipe, and fairy smoke. Because these flowers can’t produce energy using chlorophyll they need to get it through other means. Over time they have formed a relationship with fungus. Fungal roots relays energy from the roots of trees to the roots of the ghost flower. It is usually safe to assume that an abundance of ghost flowers in July and August will lead to an abundance of mushrooms in late summer and fall. -Jessica

Ghost flowers found on a canoe trip out of the Baker lake entry point.