Biennial or perennial, (10-) 15-30 (-40) cm tall, puberulous-glandulose to glabrate, simple, erect, pale brownish or purplish, sometimes thickened and short, whitish-puberulous; scales ovate to lanceolate, acuminate. Spikes (7-) 10-20 (-25) cm long, often densely many flowered. Bracts ovate to lanceolate, shorter or as long as the corolla, broad to narrow; bracteoles absent. Calyx ± half as long as the corolla, divided completely at the back to 2-segments; each lateral segment 2-fid to sometimes almost entire, very variable, teeth ± as long as the tube or shorter. Corolla (12-) 15-20 mm long, usually conspicuously curved, glabrous to puberulous above, tubulose; tube often whitish or pale, hardly to slightly inflated below; limb shortly lobed, bluish, sometimes violaceous to brownish, irregularly toothed to subentire. Stamens inserted ± at the middle of corolla-tube; filaments glabrous to pubescent at the base; anthers nearly glabrous to puberulous. Capsules suborbicular, 5-7mm long; stigma usually darker, bilobed.

A very variable species in flower colour, size, calyx dentation, bract size and shape etc. Two varieties, in addition to the type variety, are reported from the area.

Lower Taxa

• Orobanche cernua var. cernua
• Orobanche cernua var. nepalensis Reut.
• Orobanche cernua var. pseudo-clarkei Jafri