This spectacular plant is a member of the broomrape (Orobancheaceae) family but has a lupin like shape, five lobed two lipped flowers and can grow half a metre tall. We first identified these at 120 km per hour growing by the motorway near Alméria in Southern Spain and just like both the plants in the photos couldn't see the any Chenopodiaceae species upon which it is supposed to be parasitic. Perhaps the root system of both parasite and host extend a long way underground but the darker yellow plants seemed to grow out of bare earth.

There is a very attractive sub species violacea which we did not see but both these photos are of ssp lutea.

Cistanche phelypaea ssp lutea Cistanche Outside Huércal-Overa, Spain 20th March 2007 Previous   Next	Cistanche phelypaea ssp lutea Cistanche Dry Gulch near Tabernas, Spain 21st March 2007 Previous   Next
Cistanche phelypaea ssp lutea	Cistanche phelypaea ssp lutea

LHS: Outside Huércal-Overa, 20th March 2007. RHS: Dry Gulch near Tabernas, Spain 21st March 2007

Added on March 26th 2007, updated 3rd December 2008, updated 14th March 2010