Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Orobanche elatior

Other name

Tall Broomrape

Family

Orobanchaceae

Flowering season

June to July

English distribution

It is found mainly in the South and East, and is thinly

scattered elsewhere.

See the BSBI distribution map for Knapweed Broomrape

Habitat

It is almost exclusively parasitic on Greater Knapweed and

is found on chalk and limestone grassland, in quarries and

alongside roads and railways.

Description

Knapweed Broomrape is a native, perennial, parasitic herb,

growing up to 75cm.

Flowers are honey yellow, glandular and up to 25mm.

The upper lip of the flower is usually 2-lobed and slightly

crisped.

The lower lip has 3 roughly equal crisped lobes.

The stigma lobes are yellow and the stamens are

inserted above the base of the corolla tube.

Bracts are scale-like, lanceolate and shorter than

the flowers.

I found it very difficult to distinguish between Knapweed

Broomrape and Greater Broomrape. The plant shown here

was growing in an area where there is plenty of its main

host -Greater Knapweed, but it appeared to be most

closely associated with the leguminous Common

Rest-harrow.