The Flickr Taxonomy:Family=Orobanchaceae Image Generatr

Oxford, England ... in the Oxford Botanical Gardens.

I had wanted to follow some (if not all) of the Wild In Art sculpture trail in Oxford. It was not logistically possible! But they were having a farewell weekend, where all the large oxen and some of the calves were herded together in the Westgate Mall in Oxford.

So I set off early so as to see the sculptures, then visit Oxford Botanical Gardens ... another place I have never visited. In fact I had never been to Oxford at all, so it was a good chance to get a taster of the city too.

Aeginetia is a genus of plants in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae, native mostly to tropical Asia and also Cameroon (in Africa).

The genus name of Aeginetia is in honour of Paul of Aegina (c. 625 – c. 690), a Byzantine Greek born physician best known for writing the medical encyclopedia, Medical Compendium in Seven Books.

Aeginetia indica, commonly known as Indian broomrape or forest ghost flower, is a holoparasitic herb or root parasite. It grows in moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests of tropical and subtropical Asia and New Guinea. It parasitises plants of the families Cannaceae, Commelinaceae, Cyperaceae, Juncaceae, Poaceae, and Zingiberaceae.

In many regions, including the Nepal Eastern Himalayas, Aeginetia indica is used for medicinal and ritual purposes. For example, the entire plant is placed in shrines or on altars during the Teej festival as a symbol of Shiva and Parvati.

Oxford, England ... in the Oxford Botanical Gardens.

I had wanted to follow some (if not all) of the Wild In Art sculpture trail in Oxford. It was not logistically possible! But they were having a farewell weekend, where all the large oxen and some of the calves were herded together in the Westgate Mall in Oxford.

So I set off early so as to see the sculptures, then visit Oxford Botanical Gardens ... another place I have never visited. In fact I had never been to Oxford at all, so it was a good chance to get a taster of the city too.

Aeginetia is a genus of plants in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae, native mostly to tropical Asia and also Cameroon (in Africa).

The genus name of Aeginetia is in honour of Paul of Aegina (c. 625 – c. 690), a Byzantine Greek born physician best known for writing the medical encyclopedia, Medical Compendium in Seven Books.

Aeginetia indica, commonly known as Indian broomrape or forest ghost flower, is a holoparasitic herb or root parasite. It grows in moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests of tropical and subtropical Asia and New Guinea. It parasitises plants of the families Cannaceae, Commelinaceae, Cyperaceae, Juncaceae, Poaceae, and Zingiberaceae.

In many regions, including the Nepal Eastern Himalayas, Aeginetia indica is used for medicinal and ritual purposes. For example, the entire plant is placed in shrines or on altars during the Teej festival as a symbol of Shiva and Parvati.

www.inaturalist.org/observations/116789328

www.inaturalist.org/observations/116789328

www.inaturalist.org/observations/116789328

www.inaturalist.org/observations/116789328

www.inaturalist.org/observations/116789328

www.inaturalist.org/observations/80706806

www.inaturalist.org/observations/80706806

www.inaturalist.org/observations/80706806

www.inaturalist.org/observations/80706806

Heller birdbeaks, Cordylanthus kingii subsp. helleri, Nevada, White Mountains, Mustang Mountain, Sagehen Flat, Pinchot Creek - Columbus Salt Marsh watershed, elevation 2905 m (9530 ft).

This species is a spring or summer annual typical of the understory of pinyon-juniper woodlands and adjacent sagebrush vegetation, and is found throughout most of the Great Basin and almost all of Utah. Heller birdbeaks is the subspecies limited to the southwest corner of this range, from central Nevada westward into the Great Basin portion of eastern California. It reaches higher elevations, and is characterized by shorter flower parts, including more numerous bracts with shorter and broader lobes. The plants also tend to be more copiously glandular hairy.

All Cordylanthus species are considered to be hemiparasitic, possessing chlorophyll but also deriving some of their nutrients from the roots of other associated species. As plants of Heller birdbeaks develop, the chlorophyll is rapidly lost or masked by brownish purple pigments, lending pinyon-juniper woodlands a characteristic understory color after especially wet spring or summer seasons.

Heller birdbeaks, Cordylanthus kingii subsp. helleri, Nevada, White Mountains, Mustang Mountain, Sagehen Flat, Pinchot Creek - Columbus Salt Marsh watershed, elevation 2905 m (9530 ft).

This species is a spring or summer annual typical of the understory of pinyon-juniper woodlands and adjacent sagebrush vegetation, and is found throughout most of the Great Basin and almost all of Utah. Heller birdbeaks is the subspecies limited to the southwest corner of this range, from central Nevada westward into the Great Basin portion of eastern California. It reaches higher elevations, and is characterized by shorter flower parts, including more numerous bracts with shorter and broader lobes. The plants also tend to be more copiously glandular hairy.

All Cordylanthus species are considered to be hemiparasitic, possessing chlorophyll but also deriving some of their nutrients from the roots of other associated species. As plants of Heller birdbeaks develop, the chlorophyll is rapidly lost or masked by brownish purple pigments, lending pinyon-juniper woodlands a characteristic understory color after especially wet spring or summer seasons.

Heller birdbeaks, Cordylanthus kingii subsp. helleri, California, White Mountains, Westgard Pass, Cedar Flat, Owens Valley watershed, elevation 2237 m (7340 ft).

This species is a spring or summer annual typical of the understory of pinyon-juniper woodlands and adjacent sagebrush vegetation, and is found throughout most of the Great Basin and almost all of Utah. Heller birdbeaks is the subspecies limited to the southwest corner of this range, from central Nevada westward into the Great Basin portion of eastern California. It reaches higher elevations, and is characterized by shorter flower parts, including more numerous bracts with shorter and broader lobes. The plants also tend to be more copiously glandular hairy.

All Cordylanthus species are considered to be hemiparasitic, possessing chlorophyll but also deriving some of their nutrients from the roots of other associated species. As plants of Heller birdbeaks develop, the chlorophyll is rapidly lost or masked by brownish purple pigments, lending pinyon-juniper woodlands a characteristic understory color after especially wet spring or summer seasons.

Heller birdbeaks, Cordylanthus kingii subsp. helleri, California, White Mountains, Westgard Pass, Cedar Flat, Owens Valley watershed, elevation 2237 m (7340 ft).

This species is a spring or summer annual typical of the understory of pinyon-juniper woodlands and adjacent sagebrush vegetation, and is found throughout most of the Great Basin and almost all of Utah. Heller birdbeaks is the subspecies limited to the southwest corner of this range, from central Nevada westward into the Great Basin portion of eastern California. It reaches higher elevations, and is characterized by shorter flower parts, including more numerous bracts with shorter and broader lobes. The plants also tend to be more copiously glandular hairy.

All Cordylanthus species are considered to be hemiparasitic, possessing chlorophyll but also deriving some of their nutrients from the roots of other associated species. As plants of Heller birdbeaks develop, the chlorophyll is rapidly lost or masked by brownish purple pigments, lending pinyon-juniper woodlands a characteristic understory color after especially wet spring or summer seasons.

Indian paintbrush, Castilleja chromosa, Nevada, White Mountains, Montgomery Pass, Columbus Salt Marsh drainage, elevation 2396 m (7860 ft).

The flower spikes seemed unusually narrow for this species, so I thought it might identify as something else, but Castilleja chromosa still seemed to be the best fit.

This widespread perennial is found across much of the interior western United States, from the Great Basin and Mojave Desert eastward to the Rocky Mountains. It is found mainly with sagebrush below about 3000 meters (10,000 feet) elevation. Like all members of the Broomrape Family, desert paintbrush is parasitic on the roots of other plants. Paintbrushes are hemiparasitic, meaning partially parasitic, since they also have green leaves with chlorophyll to help produce their own energy. Sagebrushes (Artemisia species) seem to be the primary root host for this species, but maybe not the only ones.

Indian paintbrush, Castilleja chromosa, Nevada, White Mountains, Montgomery Pass, Columbus Salt Marsh drainage, elevation 2396 m (7860 ft).

The flower spikes seemed unusually narrow for this species, so I thought it might identify as something else, but Castilleja chromosa still seemed to be the best fit.

This widespread perennial is found across much of the interior western United States, from the Great Basin and Mojave Desert eastward to the Rocky Mountains. It is found mainly with sagebrush below about 3000 meters (10,000 feet) elevation. Like all members of the Broomrape Family, desert paintbrush is parasitic on the roots of other plants. Paintbrushes are hemiparasitic, meaning partially parasitic, since they also have green leaves with chlorophyll to help produce their own energy. Sagebrushes (Artemisia species) seem to be the primary root host for this species, but maybe not the only ones.

Also visible here are carpet phlox (Phlox hoodii canescens) and litter of singleleaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla).

North American wild flowers.
Washington, D.C. :Smithsonian Institution,1925..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42669549

Field book of western wild flowers /.
New York :Putnam,1915..
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40804173