Thistle broomrape  (Orobanche reticulata)

Annual: lives or grows for just one year.
Biennial: A plant that lives for two years and typically flowers only in the second year.
Chlorophyll: a group of green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms (photosynthesis is a metabolic process characteristic of plants in which carbon dioxide is reduced, using energy absorbed by the green pigment chlorophyll. Organic compounds are made and oxygen is given off as a by-product).
Endemic: a species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
Lips: in plants, petal or petals that form a lobe.
Parasite: an organism that derives its food from, and lives in or on, another living organism at the host's expense.
Perennial: plants that live for at least three seasons; after an initial period they produce flowers once a year.

1. Press, B. & Gibbons, B. (1993) Photographic field guide: Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe. New Holland (Publishers) Ltd., London.
   
2. Wigginton, M. J. (1999) British Red Data Books 1; Vascular Plants. 3rd Edition. JNCC, Peterborough.
   
3. Mabey, R. (1996) Flora Britannica. Sinclair-Stevenson, London.
   
4. National Biodiversity Network Species Dictionary ( January 2003)
   http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nbn