Kopsiopsis hookeri
# Kopsiopsis hookeri

Kopsiopsis hookeri is a species of parasitic plant in the family Orobanchaceae known as Vancouver groundcone, small groundcone or poque.

## Distribution

It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in wooded areas.

## Description

It is a parasite of salal bushes, which it parasitizes by penetrating them with haustoria to tap nutrients. The groundcone is visible aboveground as a purplish, brown, or yellowish cone-shaped inflorescence 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) long. Pale-colored flowers emerge from between the overlapping bracts. Coastal aboriginal groups ate the potato-like stembase of Ground Cones raw, though usually as a snack and not in any quantity.

Formerly considered Boschniakia hookeri, some taxonomists now place it in the genus Kopsiopsis on the basis of phylogenetic evidence.

