[Wikipedia] Distribution, Description: Kopsiopsis hookeri is a species of parasitic plant in the family Orobanchaceae known as Vancouver groundcone, small groundcone or poque.[1][2][3][4][5]
Distribution
It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in wooded areas.
Description
It is a parasite of salal bushes, which it parasitizes by penetrating them with haustoria to tap nutrients. The groundcone is visible aboveground as a purplish, brown, or yellowish cone-shaped inflorescence 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) long. Pale-colored flowers emerge from between the overlapping bracts. Coastal aboriginal groups ate the potato-like stembase of Ground Cones raw, though usually as a snack and not in any quantity.[6]
Formerly considered Boschniakia hookeri, some taxonomists now place it in the genus Kopsiopsis on the basis of phylogenetic evidence.[2] (link added by Mary Ann Machi)