Sagebrush strangler, Orobanche corymbosa (26931289209)

Description:

Description: sagebrush strangler, Orobanche corymbosa, California, White Mountains, Black Mountain, Owens Valley drainage, elevation 2402 m (7880 ft). This flowering root parasite is widespread and common across the interior western United States, centering in the Great Basin. Like all desert species that germinate annually from seed, the plants are more abundant in wet years, and can be scarce or absent in dry years. As a holoparasite, the plant produces no chlorophyll. It has also developed a reproductive strategy of producing huge numbers of tiny seeds. The seeds are small enough to fit down microcracks in the soil, and numerous enough that at least a few are likely to find a host root soon after germination. As the common name suggests, the primary host plants are shrubby species of Artemisia, but it has also been reported on other Asteraceae and Chenopodiaceae. At this location, the vegetation was pinyon-juniper woodland with an understory primarily of black sagebrush (Artemisia nova), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), and several species of buckwheat (Eriogonum). Date: 18 June 2016, 17:26. Source: sagebrush strangler, Orobanche corymbosa. Author: Jim Morefield from Nevada, USA. Camera location37° 16′ 46.85″ N, 118° 10′ 24.74″ W View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 37.279680; -118.173539.