Broom-Rape Family (Orobanchaceæ)
(A) One-flowered Cancer-root; Broom-rape (Orobanche uniflora) is an attractive little parasite with a subterranean scaly stem, each branch sending up one to four very slender stalks from 3 to 6 inches high and bearing at the top a single blossom each.
Their color varies from a pale purple to a cream color and they average about three quarters of an inch in length. It is found in moist woods throughout the United States and southern Canada.
(B) Beech Drops; Cancer-root (Epifagus virginiana). This peculiar growth is found almost exclusively in beech woods.
The stem attains heights of 6 to 20 inches. At the ends of the branches are a number of curved, tubular flowers; these are stained a dull magenta.
Beech Drops attaches its roots to those of beech trees and gets all its sustenance from them. It blooms form August to Oct. and ranges from N. B. to Minn. and southward.