Cistanche tubulosa, Cistanche lutea,
Yellow broomrape, Desert Broomrape,
Hebrew: יחנוק המדבר, Arabic: هالوك , ترفاس اصفر
Scientific name:  Cistanche tubulosa (Schenk) Hook.f.
Synonym name:  Cistanche lutea Wight non Hoffmanns. et Link
Common name:  Yellow Broomrape, Desert Broomrape, Saline cistanche
Hebrew name:  יחנוק המדבר
Arabic name:  هالوك , ترفاس اصفر
Plant Family:  Orobanchaceae, עלקתיים

פרחים וצמחי בר בארץ ישראל

Life form:  Parasite
Succulence:  Stem succulent
Stems:  30-60 cm tall, often with a purplish tinge, simple, erect, glabrous to puberulous, often broader (up to 5 cm) at base. Scales 2-3 cm long, 10-15 mm broad, triangular to broadly linear, acute
Leaves:  Alternate, scale
Flowers:  Yellow corolla
Fruits / pods:  Capsules 20-25 mm long, ovoid-oblong, laterally compressed, beaked, many-seeded; seeds c. 1 mm long, pitted, dark-coloured.
Flowering Period:   March, April
Habitat:   Desert
Distribution:   Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Irano-Turanian - Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Cistanche tubulosa,Cistanche lutea, Yellow broomrape, Desert Broomrape, יחנוק המדבר, هالوك , ترفاس اصفر


Derivation of the botanical name:
Cistanche, from Cistus and Orobanche, Greek anchein "to strangle" or anche "poison."
tubulosa, tubulus, a small pipe; with small pipes.
lutea, golden, saffron, orange-yellow.
  • The standard author abbreviation Schenk is used to indicate Joseph August Schenk (1815 – 1891), a German botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Hook.f. is used to indicate Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911), one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century.
  • The standard author abbreviation Wight is used to indicate Robert Wight (1796 – 1872), a Scottish surgeon and botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Hoffmanns. is used to indicate Johann Centurius von Hoffmannsegg (1766 – 1849), a German botanist, entomologist and ornithologist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Link is used to indicate Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (1767 – 1851), a German naturalist and botanist.
See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases.