Broomrape: What's in a Name?

Dr. Reuven Jacobsohn, Agricultural Research Organization, Bugwood.org
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.

One can turn a lot of heads by speaking publicly of the plants in the family Orobanchaceae. This interesting and often beautiful parasitic plant family is collectively referred to as the broomrape family. Species with common names like “naked broomrape” and “spiked broomrape” can really make a casual plant conversation turn sour in no time.

Despite how heinous the name sounds, its origin is a bit more innocent. I have really grown to appreciate etymology. Learning the hidden meaning behind the words we utilize for taxonomy can be a lot of fun. It can also teach you a little bit more about the species itself. 

In this context, rape stems from the Latin word “rapum,” which roughly translates to “tuber” or “turnip.” Broom is an English word that, in this context, refers to a shrubby plant related to vetch, which is often parasitized by broomrapes. So, the literal meaning of broomrape is something akin to “broom tuber.” In other words, they are plants growing on the roots of vetch. So, yea, the more you know…

Further Reading: [1]

Photo by Ian Boyd licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Photo by Martin Heigan licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Photo by Park Ranger licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Photo by mpaola_andreoni licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Fuzziest of Flowers

Photo by Andreas Kay licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Describing plants can be quite a task for taxonomists. When a new species is discovered, the honor of naming it often goes to the discoverer. At the very least, they have some input. Some folks go for the more traditional rout and give the plant a descriptive name rooted in either Latin or Greek. Others decide to name the plant in honor of a botanist of the past or perhaps a loved one. Still others take a stranger approach in order to immortalize a famous celebrity. However, in doing so they risk taking something away from the species in question.

Instead of a descriptive name that clues you in on specific features of the plant, instead you hit an etymological dead end in which you are stuck with nothing more than a last name. This became quite apparent to University of Alabama botanist John Clark when it was time to name a newly discovered plant species from South America. 

Had things been slightly different, the recently discovered Kohleria hypertrichosa would have been named after Chewbacca. One look at the flowers of this species and you can understand why. The long tubular petals of this gesneriad are covered in dense, fuzzy hair. This is unlike any other plant known to science. The appearance of these odd fuzz balls may seem puzzling at first but considering where this plant was found growing, it quickly becomes apparent that these flowers are a marvelous adaptation in response to climate. 

Kohleria hypertrichosa is only known to grow in a very narrow swath of mountainous cloud forest in the Ecuadorian Andes. At home between elevations of 3,600 and 6,600 feet above sea level, this wonderful gesneriad experiences some pretty low temperatures for a tropical region. It is likely that the thick layer of hairs keeps the flowers a bit warmer than the surrounding air, offering a welcoming microclimate for pollinators. This could potentially make them much more likely to be pollinated in a habitat where pollinators may be in short supply. 

At the end of the day, Clark decided to stick with a more traditional name for this new species. Its scientific name is no less interesting as a result. The specific epithet 'hypertrichosa' is derived from a condition in humans known as hypertrichosis, or werewolf syndrome, in which a person grows excessive amounts of body hair. 

Photo Credit: Andreas Kay [1]

Further Reading: [1]