Desert Broomrape

Cistanche deserticola, the desert broomrape, is a holoparasitic member of the broomrape family, which means it depends wholly on a host plant for its food and water. It is widely distributed in the deserts of China, in the provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Qinghai and the regions of Xinjiang, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. Along with other members of its genus, it is a noted source of the Chinese herbal medicine cistanche, called ròucōngróng or rou cong rong in Chinese. The pharmaceutical material, known as suosuo dayuan, is made by slicing the stems of the plant. Inner Mongolia is the top native-producing area of the species, with annual production of about 70 tons. The source says that, as consumption of cistanche has grown, the wild population has fallen and its range has shrunk. It names over-collection or indiscriminate collection as one cause, and the loss of the saxaul host, which is widely used for firewood, as an important other.