I can’t say it better than it is stated in this NY Times article “There’s simply no way to talk about the beauty of Orobanche uniflora without raising a lot of eyebrows.”
Commonly called Naked Broomrape or sometimes Flowered Cancer Root this wonderful flower with unflattering common names was a new one to us when we came across it in meadow on a recent hike.
It is a short leafless plant unable to photosynthsize thus gaining it’s nutrients by parasitism. Often using sedum, saxifrages and asters as a host plant. Typically growing only up to 3 inches tall we found this cluster buried deep in the grass.
It is a beautiful little flower and very unique to say the least.
nature has no boss 
How beautiful
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They are unique little flowers and ones we first noticed that day. Fun stuff.
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Wow, you really got down there ‘in its face’ 😉 Great eye and captures!
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Thanks Eliza, while very unique these little flowers were a treasure hidden in the the grass that day.
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Oh those common names! Sometimes they are REALLY common. 😉
Great photos.
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HI Kit it was an unusual and wonderful flower. Common names are interning to ponder and perhaps give us a window into the culture at the time things we named or so it seems.
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