Cistanche phelypaea aka Yellow Broomrape

Cistanche phelypaea belongs to the Orobanchaceae family. It is a perennial, so it lives for more than one year. It has no chlorophyll and lives as a holoparasite. This means it must rely on a host plant to live. Kew gives Senegal and northeastern tropical Africa as its native range. This extends south to Mozambique and into southern Arabia. Other sources give different ranges. Useful Tropical Plants lists northern Africa, Cape Verde, and southern Spain. The RHS lists southern Spain and Portugal. The sources thus do not agree on one native range.

The plant has thick, fleshy stems that bear bright yellow flowers. These stout stems rise from a swollen base. Useful Tropical Plants gives a height of about 1 foot [0.3 metres]. It gives no separate size range for garden plants. It does not say how wide the plant grows. The accounts do not say which months it blooms. They give no facts about its fruit. They add no further details on leaves or bark.

Kew places this plant in deserts and dry shrubland. Useful Tropical Plants notes dry, sandy sites near the coast. It also notes sandy sites farther inland. Its climate range spans dry tropical lowlands and warm temperate areas. These records show where it lives, not tested garden care. The sources give no exact guide for when to water. They do not state how much light it needs. They give no frost limit or hardiness zone. The plant needs a host to grow. The notes do not name a host that would suit it.

Useful Tropical Plants lists it as a wild plant. People gather it from the wild for local food use. The account likens its use as food to asparagus. It does not name the exact parts people eat. Nor does it give clear steps to prepare them. Its food rating is two out of five. The sources name only seed as a way to grow more plants. They give no further steps for sowing seed. Nor do they explain how to get a host established.

The same source lists no known hazards for this plant. This does not mean it is safe for people or pets. It lists no known uses as medicine or other uses. Beyond its flowers, the sources give no clear landscape role. They report no pests, diseases, or ways to control them. They give no basis to judge if it could become a weed.