All moral rights asserted. Recolouring or alteration of the image is prohibited without permission. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana) seed (brown) infecting a sunflower (Helianthus annuus) root. The germ tube has grown from the seed and is attaching to and entering the plant root. Sunflower broomrape is an obligatory non-photosynthetic root parasite that specifically infects the sunflower. It is found in Europe and Asia, where it can cause yield losses of over 80%. More aggressive races have evolved, mainly around the Black Sea, and broomrape can rapidly spread to new areas. Magnification: x120 when printed at 15 centimetres wide.