A member of the Orobanchaceae, this striking plant which immediately reminds you of a garden Nasturtium on a stalk, is parasitic upon members of the Psephellus genus. Psephellus sp are related to and look a bit like Centaurea sp (Knapweeds). There were about a dozen of these plants on a very flowery hillside but each host plant tended to have only a few leaves and no flowers. It is a protected species wherever it grows usually in the sub alpine zones up to 2,000 metres in near eastern countries like Iran, the Crimea and the Caucasus which are the only places from which it is known.

In this area it is also known as Diphelypaea coccinea in some regional texts but this name, according to Plantlist 1.1, is invalid. In the past it has been Aeginetia coccinea various Anoplanthus and Anoplon species as well as Lathraea sp and Orobanche coccinea.

Phelypaea coccinea No English name Hillside near Nizhnaya Terbida, Russian Caucasus, 29th June 2016 Previous   Next

Phelypaea coccinea No English name

Hillside near Nizhnaya Terbida, Russian Caucasus, 29th June 2016

Added on July 8th 2016