Hyobanche sanguinea at Cape Point

Hyobanche sanguinea at Cape Point, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Hunting for Hyobanche is analogous to going on an Easter egg hunt. The plants are very small, but quite spectacular in appearance in terms of their beautiful colors. When they are out in the open, as in this photo, they're not too difficult to spot. However, often they are under shrubs in thick fybos habitat, or in open patches in prickly thickets.

This population was on the Cape Peninsula of South Africa - not too far from the ocean.