Orobanche fasciculata
Encyclopedia
Orobanche fasciculata is a species of broomrape
known by the common name clustered broomrape. It is native to much of western and central North America from Alaska
to northern Mexico
to the Great Lakes
region, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a parasite
growing attached to the roots of other plants, usually members of the Asteraceae
, such as Artemisia, Eriodictyon
, and Eriogonum
. This plant produces one or more stems from a thick root, growing erect to about 20 centimeters in maximum height. As a parasite taking its nutrients from a host plant, it lacks leaves
and chlorophyll
. It is variable in color, often yellowish or purple. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of up to 20 flowers, each on a pedicel
up to 15 centimeters long. Each flower has a calyx of hairy triangular sepal
s and a tubular corolla 1.5 to 3 centimeters long. The flower is yellowish or purplish in color.
Broomrape
Broomrape or Broom-rape is a genus of over 200 species of parasitic herbaceous plants in the family Orobanchaceae, mostly native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Some species formerly included in this genus are now referred to the genus Conopholis.The broomrape plant is small, from...
known by the common name clustered broomrape. It is native to much of western and central North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a parasite
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
growing attached to the roots of other plants, usually members of the Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
, such as Artemisia, Eriodictyon
Eriodictyon
Eriodictyon is a genus of plants within the Hydrophylloideae subfamily of the Boraginaceae family.It includes Yerba Santa , along with other similarly named plants...
, and Eriogonum
Eriogonum
Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants, in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing...
. This plant produces one or more stems from a thick root, growing erect to about 20 centimeters in maximum height. As a parasite taking its nutrients from a host plant, it lacks leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
and chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
. It is variable in color, often yellowish or purple. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of up to 20 flowers, each on a pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
up to 15 centimeters long. Each flower has a calyx of hairy triangular sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and a tubular corolla 1.5 to 3 centimeters long. The flower is yellowish or purplish in color.