Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Share

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Pilostyles thurberi

Pilostyles thurberi A. Gray

Thurber's Stemsucker, Pilostyles

Rafflesiaceae (Rafflesia Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: PITH

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Pilostyles are parasitic on woody legumes. Only the flowers and bracts are visible on the surface of the host stems.

Many authorities now include this species in the Apodanthaceae family.

 

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Breeding System: Dioecious
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Flowers less than 1/8 inch tall, visible only after they erupt through the stem of the host plant.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Red , Brown
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May
Bloom Notes: Brown or maroon.

Distribution

USA: AZ , CA , NM , NV , TX

Web Reference

Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) Calflora
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Pilostyles thurberi in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Pilostyles thurberi in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Pilostyles thurberi

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-05-03
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back