Orobanche fasciculata
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; and other genera such as Eriodictyon and Eriogonum. This plant produces one or more stems from a bulbous root, growing erect to a maximum of about 20 centimeters in height. The stems, leaves and five-lobed flowers are covered by sticky hairs. As a parasite taking its nutrients from a host plant, it lacks chlorophyll as well as a water-storage system. 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 long. Each flower has a calyx of hairy triangular sepals and a tubular corolla long. The flower is yellowish or purplish in color.
Taxonomy
Orobanche fasciculata was given its scientific name by Thomas Nuttall in 1818. It is classified in the genus Orobanche within the family Orobanchaceae. It has two varieties:- Orobanche fasciculata var. fasciculata – From Alaska to Baja California, east to Ontario
- Orobanche fasciculata var. franciscana – Oregon and California