orthocarpus

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants belonging to the broomrape family}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Orthocarpus_tenuifolius_0194.JPG

|image_caption = Orthocarpus tenuifolius

|taxon = Orthocarpus

|authority = Nutt.

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision = See text.

}}

Orthocarpus, or owl's-clover,{{PLANTS|id=ORTHO|taxon=Orthocarpus|access-date=25 July 2015}} is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (broomrapes). They are native to North America. A number of species formerly included in Orthocarpus have been transferred to the genus Castilleja, which includes the plants commonly known as Indian paintbrush. Plants of the genus are generally less than {{Convert|30|cm|ft|frac=4}} in height.{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Ronald J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25708726|title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary|publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co|year=1994|isbn=0-87842-280-3|edition=rev.|location=Missoula, MT|pages=60|language=en|oclc=25708726|orig-year=1992}}

Like their close relatives in genus Castilleja, Orthocarpus are root hemiparasites, capable of photosynthesis but extracting water and mineral nutrients through attachment to the roots of host plants.

Some animal species such as the Edith's checkerspot butterfly use these plants as hosts during ovipositing.{{cite journal|last=Murphy|author2=Launer, Ehrlich|title=The Role of Adult Feeding in Egg Production and Population Dynamics of the Checkerspot Butterfly Euphydryas editha|journal=Oecologia|year=1983|volume=56|issue=2|pages=257–263|doi=10.1007/bf00379699|pmid=28310203|bibcode=1983Oecol..56..257M }}