About Aphyllon fasciculatum (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray
This species is currently classified under the scientific name Aphyllon fasciculatum (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray, and was previously known as Orobanche fasciculata. A member of the broomrape group, it is commonly called clustered broomrape. It is native to a large area of western and central North America, ranging from Alaska and the Great Lakes region down to northern Mexico, where it can grow in many different habitat types. It is a parasitic plant that grows attached to the roots of other plants; its most common hosts are species in the Asteraceae family, such as Artemisia, and it also grows on other plant genera including Eriodictyon and Eriogonum. This plant produces one or more erect stems from a bulbous root, reaching a maximum height of around 20 centimeters. Its stems, leaves, and five-lobed flowers are all covered in sticky hairs. As it gets all of its nutrients from its host plant, it does not produce chlorophyll and also lacks a water-storage system. It is variable in color, most often appearing yellowish or purple. Its inflorescence is a raceme that holds up to 20 flowers, with each flower borne on a pedicel up to 15 centimeters long. Each flower has a calyx made of hairy triangular sepals, and a tubular corolla between 1.5 and 3 centimeters long; the flower itself is yellowish or purplish in color. This plant has a documented traditional use among the Zuni people, who use it as a traditional remedy for hemorrhoids. The whole plant is ground into powder between two stones, and the powder is inserted into the rectum for treatment.
