Parasitic Plants

GREATER BROOMRAPE

Orobanche rapum-genistae

Broomrape Family [Orobanchaceae]

month8may month8jun month8june month8jul month8july

status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8yellow
 
morph
morph8zygo
 
petals
petalsZ4
 
type
typeZspiked
 
type
typeZtubular
 
stem
stem8round
 
smell
smell8evil
evil
rarity
rarityZscarce
 

8th June 2007, Newport, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Typical habitat, parasitising woody fabaceae species, such as Common Gorse or Broom.


8th June 2007, Newport, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
At between 20 tp 90cm in height it is the tallest Broomrape (apart from Knapweed Broomrape which can sometimes achieve greater heights than its normal maximum of 75cm). Here turning brown to fruit. It is robust and when fresh the flowers are honey-yellow coloured with purple tinges and pong, something awful.


8th June 2007, Newport, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
When fresh the stems are yellowish and strongly washed a reddish-purple. The corolla is 20-25mm and a pale-yellow to reddish with an inner which is a deeper shade of red.


8th June 2007, Newport, IoW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
A single style curls out of a fruiting specimen; they are yellow when fresh, and the stamens have glandular hairs near the tips but their lower third is hairless.


No relation to : Rape (Brassica napus) [plants with similar names belonging to differing families].

Nationally, it is a scarce [R] and listed as near threatened as it has decreased substantially. Robust and often tall it occurs very locally and scattered from Northumberland and southwards, seemingly preferring more westerly areas in scrubby places and is fully parasitic, completely lacking chlorophyll. It parasitises woody species of the Pea Family Fabaceae, especially Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and Broom (Cytisus scoparius), probably because those two are the most widespread.

The flowers have an unpleasant smell.

See the pull-out table below for comparisons with other Broomrapes and all their identifying and delineating characteristics.


OROBANCHE (BROOMRAPE) COMPARISON TABLE (shrunk)


  Orobanche rapum-genistae  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Orobanchaceae  

Distribution
 family8Broomrape family8Orobanchaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Orobanche
Orobanche
(Broomrapes)

GREATER BROOMRAPE

Orobanche rapum-genistae

Broomrape Family [Orobanchaceae]