Flowers appear to be attached to an upright above-ground stem. They are packed tightly together to form a dense spike. Easier to identify after it dies, as it dries to a rather conspicuous dark-brown color.
Parasitic annual, sticky, hairy; stems simple; leaves scale-like, <1/2 inch long; flowers purplish, yellow-throated, upper lip with a single lobe, the lower with 3 purple veined lobes, in dense spikes, have small bracts below; anthers hairy.
Habitat
Sandy soils, dry hillsides.
Flower Characteristics
Numerous flowers clustered in a dense spike; tubular, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long; lower with stalk; upper without stalk; hairy; 2-lobed upper lip and 4-lobed lower with prominent purple vein; tubular sepals; 5 long narrow lobes; hairy.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems simple or branched, often under ground; scale-like leaves; small, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Oval; 1/4 to 1/2 inch; usually as long as sepals.
Many seeds less than 1/16 inch.