Cynomorium coccineum L. subsp. coccineum
Family: BALANOPHORACEAE
Genus: Cynomorium
Catalan common name: Magraneta de corb.
Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands.
Distribution in the islands: Ibiza. Formentera.
General distribution (Phytogeography): Some regions
IUCN Category: Vulnerable
Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Life-forms: Geophyte.
Habitats: Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Parasite plant of Chenopodiaceae.
Characteristics: This spectacular parasitic plant can be found on the beaches of Formentera. It does not like a plant but rather a like a reddish club sticking straight out of the sand, and this is actually the inflorescence of this plant which lives below ground, attached to its host?s roots. The inflorescence has an apple-like consistency, the flowers are very small, some unisexual, other hermaphroditic. Flowers in spring.