As part of my job, I sometimes receive requests from researchers to check on the status of local species, e.g., whether a plant is flowering now or going to seed. Recently there was an inquiry about an interesting parasitic plant, California Orobanche (Aphyllon californicum).
I couldn't find any at first, but I didn't give up, and in the end I found a few orobanche in flower.
From above (first photo) the plant is intriguing, but it gets even more interesting if you lie down for a side view:
I read that the glandular hairs might be protective against herbivores or pathogens, but it sounds like there are other possible functions, too.
2 comments:
Very interesting! What kind of environment does it grow in? Coastal scrub? Dune?
Hi, Bill!
Well, around here we've seen them in coastal dune and coastal prairie areas. They're parasites on species like Seaside Daisy, Coastal Gumplant, and Common Woolly Sunflower.
But it looks like they occur in other habitats. And I noticed a short article about a few locations for them on the outer coast of Point Reyes: https://cnpsmarin.org/october-december-2018-plant-of-the-month/
One helpful tool in iNaturalist -- You can click on "Explore" and then enter a taxonomic name (e.g., a genus or species) and a location (e.g., Sonoma County) and it will display the records in that region. (You can click on the Map view to see the distribution.)
Jackie
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