Common Broomrape

Description:

I believe this one is O. minor; or common broomrape, a.k.a. lesser broomrape, small broomrape, hellroot or clover broomrape. This last name comes from the strong smell of clover... which, to be honest, we did not notice and we did not pay attention to at the time... These flower shoots were some 2 0cm in height, with bright yellow stem, and white, tightly-packed, flowers.

Habitat:

Alluvial plain in plein sunlight, banks on river Rhône, near Geneva and the French border.

Notes:

I find this family, Orobanchaceae, fascinating, but not easy to learn about and even less, ID various members. It is a large family of herbaceous plants, all parasitic, and it counts well over 200 species, some 150 in genus Orobanche alone. Representatives of this family don't produce chlorophyll and are totally dependent on other plants for nutrients. Their seeds can remain dormant in the soil, often for many years, until stimulated to germinate by certain compounds produced by living plant roots. Their do not grow real roots, but attach their root-like appendices to the roots of hosts, and rob their hosts of water and nutrients.