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Taxon  Report  
Aphyllon cooperi  (A. Gray) A. Heller
Burroweed strangler
Aphyllon cooperi is a perennial herb (parasitic) that is native to California, and found only slightly beyond California borders.
also called Orobanche cooperi
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Aphyllon
Family: Orobanchaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Communities: Creosote Bush Scrub, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Joshua Tree Woodland
Name Status:
Accepted by JEF

Alternate Names:
JEFOrobanche cooperi
PLANTSOrobanche cooperi
Information about  Aphyllon cooperi from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

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[Wikipedia] Range, Parasite, Description: Orobanche cooperi is a species of broomrape known by the common name Cooper's broomrape[1] desert broomrape,[1] spike broomrape,[1] and burroweed strangler.[citation needed] It is native to the desert regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is a parasite growing attached to the roots of other plants, usually members of the Asteraceae, such as Artemisia, Hymenoclea, Ambrosia and Encelia. Although not usually weedy, it has been found infesting agricultural cropland, including tomato fields in inland California.[2] This plant arises from a thick root and a scaly, twisted stem base, and produces a thick, clumpy stem up to 40 centimeters tall. As a parasite taking its nutrients from a host plant, it lacks leaves and chlorophyll. It is dark purple in color and coated with glandular hairs. The inflorescence is an elongated array of several flowers. Each flower is tubular, purple and hairy, and up to about 3 centimeters long. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 12/02/2024).