This spectacular plant is a member of the broomrape (Orobancheaceae) family but has a lupin like shape, five lobed two lipped flowers and can grow half a metre tall. We first identified these at 120 km per hour growing by the motorway near Alméria in Southern Spain and just like both the plants in the photos couldn't see the any Chenopodiaceae species upon which it is supposed to be parasitic. Perhaps the root system of both parasite and host extend a long way underground but the darker yellow plants seemed to grow out of bare earth.

There is a very attractive sub species violacea which we did not see but both these photos are of ssp lutea.