Click on any image to open the slideshow
Conopholis americana
Cancerroot
American Squawroot
Florida native
This parasitic plant can be found in upland mixed forests and other oak woods in Florida mostly from the I-4 corridor northward. The range extends throughout the United States east of the Mississippi River, plus Iowa and in Canada from Manitoba to Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Lacking chlorophyll, Conopholis americana derives nutrition from the roots of woody plants. Almost always in a cluster of stalks that resemble pine cones. The leaves are scale-like and overlapping. The small 2-lipped pale yellow flowers appear all over the stem in the spring. The fruit is a capsule.
Conopholis americana is a member of the Orobanchaceae - Broom-rape family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 07, 2016
