• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Ivy broomrape

Broomrape shoots

27 Friday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in plants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ivy broomrape, Orobanche hederae, parasitic plant

When I spotted these furry shoots bursting up out of the dirt, I wasn’t immediately sure what they were. Then I noticed the fully grown spike next to one group and, of course, the Ivy leaves: putting two and two together, I realised the answer was Ivy broomrape, the ‘legume strangler’, the chlorophyll parasite. You can read more in a previous blog, from July 2019, here.

220527 ivy broomrape

Like this:

Like Loading...

190/365 Ivy broomrape

09 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, plants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

broomrape, Ivy broomrape, Orobanche hederae, parasite on ivy, parasitic plant

As I was walking through the park-like surroundings of All Saints Church in Penarth today, I noticed these curiosities growing amongst ivy under a couple of the trees. As the trees were different but they had ivy in common, I assume these are Ivy broomrape. Their scientific name is Orobanche hederae which, according to Wikipedia, translates as follows: ‘Orobanche is derived from Greek, and means ‘legume strangler’ … The name hederae means ‘of ivy’, in reference to its host plant, Hedera.’

190709 ivy broomrape (2)

All the broomrapes, the Orobanchaceae, are parasitic plants: they are unable to manufacture their own chlorophyll so cannot exist without tapping in to the roots of their host plants for nutrients. In this case the host is ivy but there are also broomrapes that parasitize trees like hazel and elm and plants like yarrow, greater knapweed and various thistles.

190709 ivy broomrape (1)

Like this:

Like Loading...

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Post-breeding summer passage August 18, 2022
  • Sea holly August 17, 2022
  • Garden warbler August 16, 2022
  • Three days in a row August 15, 2022
  • Topknot or tonsure August 14, 2022

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Click on the category

'Dedicated Naturalist' Project 365DaysWildin2019 amphibian animals autumn birds coastal fauna flowers fungi geology insects ladybird leaves lichen mammal molluscs nature nature photography parks plants reptiles seaside seasons spiders spring trees walks weather wildflowers winter

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • earthstar
    • Join 568 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • earthstar
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: