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

Orobanche californica Cham. & Schltdl.
California broomrape (winged rib)
Orobanchaceae (Broom-rape family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Daniel Stewart  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #71229)

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Distribution of Orobanche californica
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Species Information

General:
Parasitic herb from a coarse, tuber-like, fleshy root; stems branched, short glandular-hairy, dark purple, 5-35 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves scaly-bracteate, alternate, short glandular-hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 20 or more flowers in round-topped clusters; corollas purple, 2.2-4.5 cm long, the lips 10-14 mm long and spreading, stalked, the stalks 0-4 cm long, with leaves; calyces 10-20 mm long, lobes longer than the tubes; anthers woolly-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 Grindelia integrifolia and Ambrosia chamissonis on sandy beaches in the lowland zone; locally frequent on S Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, rare on adjacent mainland; S to CO and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References