Indian Pipes Revisited

On my recent macro workshop, I found an interesting group of plants.  I photograph them and have been trying to identify what they were, but was unable to.  I sent the picture to my good friend Lauren, who identified them as last year's Indian Pipe.  Previously last year I did a blog about the Indian Pipe http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2011/07/indian-pipe.html. 
Most of the Indian Pipes that I observed last year as they grew older, just turn black and dried up, then disappeared.  The natural history of Indian Pipes is, once they are pollinated, the flowers will turn up right and the plants turn brown.  How these plants are pollinated is not well-known, but both bees in skipper butterflies to visit the flowers.  The ovary.  All the flower will develop a wooden capsule with five slits in it, through which the tiny seeds are shaken out.  The seeds will germinate when the proper fungus is available in the soil, since they rely on the fungus for obtaining the nutrients necessary for growth.  So, as you walk through the woods, keep your eyes open because there are interesting sites to see, and you always will learn something.