Orobanche crenata   No English name

Orobanche crenata whole Orobanche crenata flower

Wandering up the little lane outside our holiday flat in Crete, I came across quite a few plants which I hadn't yet photographed but was quite surprised by this clump of huge, fat Orobanche plants. Later I found quite a few more in a different part of the village and noticed that they find the roots of legumes particularly tasty although at least one appeared to have taken a fancy to Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium).

This one is parasitic upon Vicia faba (Broad Bean) and when you see parasitic plants this size you can well believe they can do damage to crops.

Orobanche crenata                  
Orobanche crenata for 1260x960                  

Ano stallos, Crete 4th April 2007

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