Botanical name: Christisonia bicolor    Family: Orobanchaceae (Broomrape family)
Synonyms: Christisonia aurantiaca, Cliffordia bicolor, Christisonia pallida

Bicolor Christisonia is a rare parasitic plant from Nilgiri hills, probably chiefly parasitic on Acanthaceae like Strobilanthus. It is a fleshy plant with thick brownish yellow scaly stem, orange coloured calyx and yellow flowers. Stem is 8-12 cm long, pubescent, scales few, distant. Flowers and the flower clusters are stalked, bracteoles 2, 8 x 3 mm, lanceshaped, pointed, velvety. Calyx is 1.8 cm long, brick-red, lobes short, triangular, long-pointed, glandular hairy. Flowers are 6 cm long, tube narrow below, widening above, lobes yellow, orbicular, glandular hairy. Filaments are 2.5 cm long, sterile, anther lobes 3 mm long, spur-like, acuminate; placenta lobed; style to 4.5 cm long, stigma peltate with a large pit at centre. Bicolor Christisonia is found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

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The flower labeled Bicolor Christisonia is ...