Orobanche minor

Orobanche minor, called common broomrape, lesser broomrape and other colloquial names, is a holoparasitic annual that grows attached to a root of another plant. It reaches heights up to about 80 cm. 

Holoparasites have no chlorophyll, no capacity to photosynthesise, and are thus totally dependent on their host plants for nutrients. Generalist in its host species range, the known hosts include families like Fabaceae and Asteraceae and genera like Athanasia, Annesorhiza and Rhoicissus.

The species is an exotic, entered South Africa long ago from North Africa or southern Europe, naturalised near the coast in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. Its distribution is restricted to the distributions of suitable hosts. The plants grow in various soils, from sandy and loamy to clayey. 

Another common name of the species, hellroot, indicates its standing among farmers dealing with its crop impact. Whoever is called too many names, should not necessarily rate their own popularity too highly (Visser, 1981; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; http://redlist.sanbi.org).