(n) fleshy tawny or reddish saprophytic herb resembling the Indian pipe and growing in woodland humus of eastern North America; in some classifications placed in a separate genus Hypopitys, Syn. false beachdrops, Monotropa hypopithys
n. (Bot.) A reddish fleshy herb of the genus Monotropa (Monotropa hypopitys), formerly thought to be parasitic on the roots of pine trees, but more probably saprophytic. [ 1913 Webster ]