trefle.io · Taken May 17, 2011 by Marcel Ambühl (cc-by-sa)
Orobanchaceae
Slender broomrape
Orobanche gracilis
Also known as Lesser broomrape, Orobanche gracilis, Clover broomrape, Orobanche cruenta subsp. gracilis
Native Plants · Parasitic Plant · Broomrape · Holoparasite · Wildflower · Rare · Mediterranean · Botanical Curiosity · Specialist · European Wildflower · Non-Photosynthetic
Orobanche gracilis is a holoparasitic plant that has no chlorophyll and survives entirely by attaching to the roots of host plants such as legumes and other herbs — it cannot be grown independently in a pot or garden bed. It is primarily of interest to specialist botanists and wildflower enthusiasts, and is extremely difficult to cultivate outside its natural Mediterranean and European habitat. This plant is not suitable for home gardening and is included here for botanical reference purposes on
Growing conditions
The details behind the basics
- Daily light
- 5 hours
- Watering
- Water is obtained entirely through the host plant's root system; no direct watering required · Dependent on host plant; not independently watered
- Maintenance
- High
- Soil
- loam
- Soil pH
- 7.5–8
- Temperature
- 0°F to 90°F
- Cycle
- Perennial
- Propagation
- Seed, Cutting
Hardiness
USDA 5a-9b
Form & growth
Mature size and habit
- Mature height
- 2 ft – 5 ft
- Spread
- 3 ft
- Spacing
- 24 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Root depth
- Medium
- Flowers
- No
- Foliage
- Medium
Ecology & origin
Where it belongs and what it brings
- Native to
- Albania, Algeria, Austria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kriti, Morocco, North Caucasus, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain
- Attracts
- Bees
Sources: trefle, usda
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