Thurber’s Stemsucker: The Tiny Parasitic Wildflower You Can’t (and Shouldn’t) Grow
Meet one of nature’s most unusual native plants: Thurber’s stemsucker (Pilostyles thurberi). Don’t let the quirky common name fool you – this isn’t your typical garden flower. In fact, it’s so specialized that you literally cannot grow it in a conventional garden, and here’s why that’s actually pretty fascinating.
What Exactly Is Thurber’s Stemsucker?
Thurber’s stemsucker is a perennial parasitic plant that belongs to a truly bizarre group of flowering plants. Unlike the green plants we’re used to seeing, this little oddball has no leaves, no stems, and no roots of its own. Instead, it lives entirely inside other plants, specifically shrubs in the Dalea genus (prairie clovers and indigo bushes).
The only part you’ll ever see of this plant is its tiny reddish-brown flowers, which are about the size of a pinhead and pop out directly from the stems of its host plant. It’s classified as a forb, though calling it a typical herb would be quite the stretch!
Where Does It Call Home?
This native species has made itself at home across the southwestern United States, thriving in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. It’s perfectly adapted to the hot, arid conditions of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts, where its host plants naturally occur.
Why You Can’t Grow It (And Why That’s Okay)
Here’s where Thurber’s stemsucker gets really interesting – and completely impractical for home gardeners. This plant is what scientists call an obligate parasite, meaning it absolutely must have a specific host plant to survive. You can’t just plant seeds in your garden bed and hope for the best.
The plant spends most of its life completely hidden inside the tissues of Dalea shrubs, only revealing itself when those tiny flowers emerge. Even if you had the right host plants in your garden, successfully introducing this parasite would require specialized knowledge and likely wouldn’t benefit your landscape anyway.
What About Its Garden Value?
Let’s be honest – Thurber’s stemsucker isn’t winning any beauty contests or attracting hordes of pollinators. The flowers are so small that most insects probably don’t even notice them. From a practical gardening standpoint, this plant offers:
- No ornamental value
- No significant pollinator benefits
- No landscape design applications
- Potential harm to valuable Dalea host plants
A Better Approach: Celebrate Its Existence
Instead of trying to grow Thurber’s stemsucker, consider it one of nature’s fascinating curiosities. If you’re interested in supporting native desert ecosystems, focus on planting the host plants it depends on – various Dalea species are excellent choices for water-wise gardens in USDA zones 8-10.
Prairie clovers and indigo bushes are attractive, drought-tolerant shrubs that actually do provide excellent pollinator habitat and landscape value. By growing these native hosts, you’re supporting the entire ecosystem that makes unusual plants like Thurber’s stemsucker possible.
The Takeaway
Thurber’s stemsucker is a perfect example of how complex and interconnected nature can be. While it’s not destined for your garden beds, it plays its own small role in desert ecosystems. Sometimes the best way to appreciate a native plant is simply to know it exists and to protect the habitats where it thrives naturally.
For your native garden, stick with the beautiful and beneficial Dalea species instead – your pollinators (and your sanity) will thank you!
