Flower profile
Northern groundcone
Boschniakia rossica
Northern groundcone is a wildflower.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
On our lists for: Alaska
Quick look
Boschniakia rossica, commonly known as the northern groundcone, is a holoparasitic plant that lives in the northern latitudes of the northern hemisphere. In the Pacific Northwest Temperate Rainforest, it does not grow south of Prince of Wales Island, beyond that boundary is the Vancouver groundcone habitat. It does not contain chlorophyll, so it must be parasitic to obtain nutrients.
- It belongs to the Orobanchaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to Alaska. NatureServe
- iNaturalist has 1,267 research-grade sightings of it in Alaska, ranking #33 among the 108 flowers on our Alaska list. iNaturalist
Northern groundcone gift ideas
Handmade northern groundcone gifts from independent makers.
🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.
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Northern groundcone art print
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Northern groundcone greeting card
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Northern groundcone mug
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Northern groundcone earrings
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Northern groundcone embroidery pattern
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Northern groundcone sticker
When does it bloom?
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
- Alaska
- No list Alaska has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Alaska ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Alaska.
- Rare elsewhere
- No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records Northern groundcone in 1 states.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
Alaska.
Alaska counties with USDA records: Anchorage, Bethel, Chugach, Copper River, Denali, Dillingham, Fairbanks North Star, Haines, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Lake and Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna, Nome, North Slope, Northwest Arctic, Sitka, Southeast Fairbanks, Yakutat, Yukon-Koyukuk.
More Alaska flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile BORO.
- iNaturalist, Boschniakia rossica: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Boschniakia rossica (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Alaska: Alaska prohibited and restricted noxious weeds (11 AAC 34.020).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Boschniakia rossica (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: Evelyn Lazzaretti 🏳️⚧️ via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.