California groundcone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids California groundcone
Scientific classification
Genus:	Kopsiopsis
Species:	strobilacea

Kopsiopsis strobilacea, the California groundcone, is a species of parasitic plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to California and southern Oregon, where it grows in wooded areas and chaparral. It is a parasite of manzanitas and madrones, which it parasitizes by penetrating them with haustoria to tap nutrients. The groundcone is visible aboveground as a dark purplish or reddish to brown inflorescence up to 18 cm (7.1 in) long. Pale-margined purple flowers emerge from between the overlapping bracts.

Formerly considered Boschniakia strobilacea, some taxonomists now place it in the genus Kopsiopsis on the basis of phylogenetic evidence.