Parasitic plants utilize a specialized organ called haustoria to penetrate host tissue and form a direct connection with the host to take up water, minerals, and nutrients. Haustorium formation begins with the perception of host-derived haustorium inducing factors (HIFs) and is followed by rapid cell division and differentiation. Despite the specific composition of several HIFs being known for several decades, little is known about the signaling pathway involved in haustorium formation. Among the HIFs, 2,6-dimethoxy benzoquinone (DMBQ) is most potent, and we have identified a gene required for perception of DMBQ in plants. Through the combination of RNA-seq and RT-qPCR we identified several endogenous peptides in the parasitic plant Phtheirospermum japonicum that were upregulated following treatment with DMBQ. Treatment of P. japonicum with the synthetic peptides resulted in the induction of haustoria independent of HIFs. In addition, a peptide in Striga hermonthica that is homologous to one found in P. japonicum was also up-regulated following DMBQ treatment and was able to induce S. hermonthica prehaustoria. Potential downstream events after DMBQ perception will be discussed.