A plant behaving badly_One flowered cancer root_Toronto_DSC 3906

A plant behaving badly. This is the one flowered cancer root, or one flowered broomrape (Orobanche uniflora). It is a small parasitic plant that lacks chlorophyl and obtains its nutrients entirely by parasitizing the roots of other plants, notably saxifrages, asters and sedum. This colony was growing by the side of a stream (German Mills Creek) in the East Don Mills ravine parkland in Toronto. It is a member of the Orobanchaceae, or broomrapes, and occurs widely throughout Canada and the US, but is not often seen (this is, in fact, the only time I have seen it). Despite its rather anti-social lifestyle, it made a very pleasant surprise between the early spring ephemerals that are almost finished and the summer wildflowers that have yet to arrive.