Orobanche crenata - Carnation-scented (Bean) Broomrape

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Lamiales - Family: Orobanchaceae

Above: Orobanche crenata flowering in Italy

This is one of the scented broomrapes, and we have found it in Italy and Portugal. Very smiliar to Orobanche caryophyllacea (Clove-scented Broomrape), this broomrape definitely smelt of something sweet and flowery. However, as Clove-scented Broomrape is not reported from Crete, which is where we were, we can only conclude that it is, in fact, Carnation-scented Broomrape - Orobanche crenata - which is also sometimes called Bean Broomrape because it is mainly parasitic on Fabaceae species.

Orobanche crenata grows in a number of other European countries including Spain, France, Turkey and Greece. In Spain this broomrape is a particular problem due to its heavy infestation of Lens culinaris, a lentil crop grown along the Northern coast and in the border areas. It seems likely that it is introduced in the seed used to cultivate the arable fields.

Above and below: This specimen of Orobanche crenata was found on the side of a track running beside an arable field in Greece.

The flowers of Orobanche crenata are nearly always white and have purple veins.

Orobanche crenata flowering at Cape St. Vincent in the Algarve region of Portugal

The flowering time of Orobanche crenata is from mid-April until the end of July.

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