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Orobanche valida

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Orobanche valida, also known as Rock Creek broomrape, is a rare, leafless parasitic plant found only in California. It attaches to the roots of shrubs to obtain nutrients, so it has no leaves or chlorophyll. The plant has a hairy, glandular purple stem up to about 35 centimeters tall, and a small cluster of tubular purple flowers 1–2 centimeters long.

There are two uncommon subspecies that are geographically far apart. Howell's broomrape (ssp. howellii) occurs in the North Coast Ranges north of the San Francisco Bay Area, growing in chaparral and often on serpentine soils. The other subspecies, ssp. valida, is known from only four occurrences in the Transverse Ranges. The species is considered Vulnerable.


This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:43 (CET).