Parish’s Broomrape: A Fascinating but Uncultivatable California Native
If you’ve ever wondered about some of the more unusual native plants in California’s desert landscapes, Parish’s broomrape (Orobanche parishii) is certainly one that stands out—though not for reasons that would make most gardeners excited. This curious annual forb represents one of nature’s more challenging characters: a plant that simply cannot survive on its own.
What Makes Parish’s Broomrape So Unusual?
Parish’s broomrape belongs to a fascinating group of plants that have given up the traditional plant lifestyle entirely. Unlike the green plants we’re accustomed to growing in our gardens, this California native has no chlorophyll and cannot produce its own food through photosynthesis. Instead, it’s what botanists call a parasitic plant—it survives by attaching to the roots of other plants and stealing their nutrients.
The plant appears as a yellowish to brownish stem topped with a dense spike of small, tubular flowers that range from purple to lavender. Without any green leaves or typical plant structure, it can look almost alien when it emerges from the desert soil.
Where You’ll Find This California Native
Parish’s broomrape is endemic to California, meaning it grows naturally nowhere else in the world. You’ll find it specifically in the desert regions of southern California, where it has adapted to the harsh, arid conditions of USDA hardiness zones 9-10.
Why You Can’t (And Shouldn’t) Grow Parish’s Broomrape
Here’s where we need to have an honest conversation about this native plant: it’s absolutely not suitable for garden cultivation, and here’s why:
- Parasitic nature: The plant requires specific host plants to survive and will harm or kill them in the process
- No independent growth: Without a host plant, Parish’s broomrape simply cannot survive
- Unpredictable behavior: Even if you could establish it, you’d have no control over which plants in your garden it might attack
- Limited aesthetic value: The plant lacks the visual appeal most gardeners seek
Its Role in Nature
While Parish’s broomrape might sound like a garden villain, it plays an important role in its native desert ecosystem. As an annual forb, it completes its entire life cycle within one growing season, emerging when conditions are right and producing seeds before the harsh desert summer arrives.
The small flowers do provide some limited benefits to pollinators, particularly small insects that can access the tubular blooms. However, its primary ecological role is as part of the complex web of desert plant relationships.
Better Native Alternatives for Your Garden
If you’re interested in supporting California’s native plant heritage in your garden, there are countless better options than Parish’s broomrape. Consider these beautiful and cultivatable California natives instead:
- Desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata)
- Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa)
- Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis)
- Palo verde (Parkinsonia florida)
Appreciating Parish’s Broomrape from Afar
The best way to appreciate Parish’s broomrape is to understand it as a remarkable example of plant adaptation and evolution. If you’re hiking in southern California’s desert regions and spot this unusual plant, take a moment to marvel at nature’s ingenuity—a plant that has completely reimagined what it means to be a plant.
Just remember to leave it where you found it. Parish’s broomrape belongs in its native habitat, playing its unique role in the desert ecosystem, not in our gardens where it would be both impossible to maintain and potentially harmful to other plants.
Sometimes the most interesting native plants are the ones we admire from a respectful distance, and Parish’s broomrape is definitely one of those fascinating but hands-off members of California’s native flora.
