Ground cone, Mexican squawroot, Mexican cancer-root
| Botanical Name | Conopholis alpina, var. mexicana |
| Common Name | Ground cone, Mexican squawroot, Mexican cancer-root |
| Family | Orobanchaceae - Broomrape |
| Description | This perennial parasite stands erect and resembles a pine cone. Its small scalelike leaves lack chlorophyll. They are dependent on other plants for nutrients. They are commonly seen growing through old bales of hay. |
| Mature Size | 4” – 10” |
| Bloom | In late summer this plant flowers and causes large knobs to form on the roots of certain plants. The interesting flowers are yellowish and turn rusty brown. |
| Interesting Facts | The odd family name Broomrape comes from medieval Latin. The original name was Rapum genistae; rapum being the term for “underground stock of a tree” and genistae being a form of genista which was the term for broom bushes such as the Scotch broom. Broomrape grew on the roots of Broom bushes. |
| Traditional and Medicinal Uses | According to one source of information, it is commonly called Mexican cancer-root because it was reputed to have therapeutic properties for the disease. But another source of information says that the swelling of the plant’s root that surrounds the host’s root accounts for the cancer part of its name. |
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Photo for SFBG by Janice Tucker
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