.
England, Slovakia, Romania, Spain, France, Corsica, Malta, Sicily, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Crimea, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Northern Caucasus, Transcaucasus, Armenia, NW-India, India, China (Gansu, Hebei, Jilin, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang), Tibet, Mongolia, Afghanistan (Badakshan, Bamyan, Faryab, Ghazni, Kabul, Wardak, Orozgan / Daykundi, Paktia / Khost, Parwan, Samangan), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan (Baluchistan, Chitral, Kurram, Pakistani Punjab, Swat), Pakistani Kashmir (Baltistan, Astor, Karakorum), Jammu & Kashmir (Nubra, Ladakh), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Chad, Tanzania, Somalia, Socotra, Turkey (SE-Anatolia, SSW-Anatolia), Bahrain, Egypt (NE-Egypt, Nile Valley, NW-coastal Egypt), Iran (EC-Iran, E-Iran, NE-Iran: Mts., N-Iran, Iranian Aserbaijan, S-Iran, W-Iran), Iraq (NE-Iraq, NW-Iraq, S-Iraq, W-Iraq: Desert), Israel (C-Israel, coastal W-Israel, Rift Valley, N-Israel, N-Negev Desert, Judean Desert, S-Negev Desert, Negev Desert), Jordania (S-Jordania, W-Jordania), Kuwait, Lebanon (Antilebanon, C-Lebanon), Oman (Dhofar), Saudi Arabia (C-Saudi Arabia, NE-Saudi Arabia, N-Saudi Arabia, Asir, Nejd Desert), Sinai peninsula (C-Sinai, S-Sinai), Syria (C-Syrian Desert, Jazira, Jbel Druze), Yemen (coastal Hadhramaut, Tihama, W-Yemen) as per Catalogue of Life
.

Europe – Mediterranean to E. Asia
Rocky slopes, especially in Lahul, 1500 – 3300 metres from Pakistan to C. Nepal in the Himalayas[51].
Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; not Deep Shade;
Root – cooked. It is roasted then eaten[177, 183].
(From PFAF)
.

photo of Tobacco plant parasite : Attachments (2). 4 posts by 3 authors.

please find attached photo of a root parasite of commercial crop Tobacco-
Species: Orobanche cernua Loefl. var. desertorum
Family:  Orobanchaceae
Place: KaLLahaLLI, Hunsur Taluk, Mysore District, Karnataka
Photos: KR KIshendas


Very nice photographs …, and good find.


In the Tobacco field, i came across this Root parasite commonly named as Bambaku.
{Orobanche cernua (Family: Orobanchaceae) is a root parasite mainly seen on Tobacco crops. It is also reported on other Solanaceae crops. This Bambaku infects the roots of the crops and causes severe damage.)
Location: near Kolhapur, Maharashtra
Identified by …
Orobanche cernua is a small annual, leafless erect herb growing upto 20 to 30cm.
Flowers are seen in dense terminal spikes.)
Enclosing the photograph of  the Tobacco field were i had spotted this herb and also the photographs of Orobanche cernua.

in this case its welcome because of the health hazards that the parent plat/host plant leads to or is led to by humans…
regardless, since these evolved many millions of years ago, there was perhaps a grand design, for these so called parasites to have a useful ecological role to play
I am glad you found them and photographed them
learnt something new today

.



For ID, Pushkar, Rajasthan NAW-MAR22-02: 2 images.
Kindly identify, about 15-30 cm in height, locally called siayi ki mehendi because it stains black on being crushed.


Orobanche cernua