BROOM-RAPE (Orobanche), a genus of brown, leafless, parasitic herbs (family Orobanchaceae) growing attached to the roots of other plants. The usually stout stem bears brownish scales, and ends in a spike of yellow, reddish-brown or purplish flowers, with a gaping two-lipped corolla. Seven species occur in the British Isles; the largest, Orobanche major, is parasitic on roots of shrubby leguminous plants, and has a stout stem 1 to 2 f t. high. 0. minor is sometimes troublesome on clover crops. There are about 90 species of broom-rape, natives of temperate and sub tropical regions; some 15 occur in North America, 9 being found in California.