E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Aphyllon uniflorum (Linnaeus) Torrey & A. Gray
naked broomrape
Orobanchaceae (Broom-rape family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Aphyllon uniflorum
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Parasitic herb from a coarse, tuber-like, fleshy root; stems single or clustered, usually smooth except finely glandular-hairy above, 5-15 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves scaly-bracteate, alternate, lance shaped, smooth.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of single flowers, 1-3 per plant; corollas purplish, sometimes yellowish, 1.5-3.5 cm long, the lips similar to the other lobes, finely fringed, stalked, the leafless stalks 3-12 cm long; calyces 4-12 mm long, the unequal, narrow lobes fringed; anthers smooth or hairy.

Fruits:
Capsules; seeds numerous, angled, net-veined, less than 0.7 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Parasitic on Sedum, Saxifragaceae, Asteraceae and others; moist to dry meadows and forest openings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common on SE Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands, infrequent eastward in S BC; E to NF and S to FL, TX and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Aphyllon uniflorum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	31	857	1780
Slope Gradient (%)	0	36	80
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	50	216	340
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	1	5
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	17
Modal BEC Zone Class	ICH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	BG(1), CDF(2), CWH(2), ESSF(2), ICH(4), IDF(2), MS(3), PP(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	SNR (2020)	Not Reviewed	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Orobanche uniflora L.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2026-06-16 4:40:32 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.