Orobanche bulbosa

Orobanche bulbosa is a species of plant known by the common name chaparral broomrape.

It is native to the chaparral of California and Baja California. It is a holoparasite growing attached to the roots of shrubs, usually chamise.

Description
Orobanche bulbosa arises from a thick root and a bulbous, twisted, scaly stem base, and grows erect to a maximum height near 30 cm. As a parasite taking its nutrients from a host plant, it lacks leaves and chlorophyll. It is dark purple to nearly black in color, with tiny whitish bumps bearing hairs.

The inflorescence is a dense spike-like or pyramid-shaped cluster of generally over 20 flowers. Each flower is tubular, between 1 and 2 cm long, and yellow to purple in color.

The fruit is a capsule containing minute seeds.