Orobanchaceae, the broomrapes, is a family of mostly parasitic plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato. With its new circumscription, Orobanchaceae forms a distinct, monophyletic family. From a phylogenetic perspective, it is defined as the largest crown clade containing Orobanche major and relatives, but neither Paulownia tomentosa nor Phryma leptostachya nor Mazus japonicus.
Phlox stansburyi is a species of phlox known by the common names cold-desert phlox and pink phlox. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Utah to Texas, where it occurs in desert and plateau scrub and woodland habitat.
A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host plant, connecting them to the host vasculature – either the xylem, phloem, or both. For example, plants like Striga or Rhinanthus connect only to the xylem, via xylem bridges (xylem-feeding). Alternately, plants like Cuscuta and some members of Orobanche connect to both the xylem and phloem of the host. This provides them with the ability to extract resources from the host. These resources can include water, nitrogen, carbon and/or sugars. Parasitic plants are classified depending on the location where the parasitic plant latches onto the host, the amount of nutrients it requires, and their photosynthetic capability. Some parasitic plants can locate their host plants by detecting volatile chemicals in the air or soil given off by host shoots or roots, respectively. About 4,500 species of parasitic plants in approximately 20 families of flowering plants are known.
Striga asiatica, the Asiatic witchweed or the red witchweed, is a hemiparasitic plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but has been introduced into other parts of the world including Australia and the United States. Asiatic witchweed is a serious agricultural pest, as it parasitises important crop species, including corn, rice, sorghum, and sugar cane, often causing substantial yield reductions.
Phlox pilosa, the downy phlox or prairie phlox, is an herbaceous plant in the family Polemoniaceae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is found in open areas such as prairies and woodlands.
Phlox speciosa is a species of phlox known by the common name showy phlox. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Arizona and New Mexico, where it occurs in sagebrush, pine woodlands, and mountain forests.
Orobanche rapum-genistae, the greater broomrape, is a plant species in the genus Orobanche. It is a parasitic plant, native to Europe, growing on the roots of plants in the bean family, usually common broom or European gorse.
Roscoea schneideriana is a perennial herbaceous plant found in China, in Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan. Most members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), to which it belongs, are tropical, but R. schneideriana, like other species of Roscoea, grows in much colder mountainous regions.
Agalinis paupercula, commonly known as the smallflower false foxglove, is a hemiparasitic annual plant native to the eastern parts of the United States and Canada. Found in open, moist areas, its purple flowers are borne on a 30-to-70-centimeter stem, and bloom in August and September. The species has often been treated as a variety of Agalinis purpurea, the purple false foxglove, and preliminary genetic evidence suggests that the two are, in fact, a single species.
Acanthopale pubescens is a species of the genus Acanthopale of the family Acanthaceae. The species occurs in East and Southern Africa. Acanthopale pubescensis also known as Herayye in Ethiopia.
Castilleja coccinea, commonly known as scarlet Indian paintbrush or scarlet painted-cup, is a biennial flowering plant in the Orobanchaceae (broomrape) family. It is usually found in prairies, rocky glades, moist and open woodlands, thickets, and along streams in central and eastern North America.
Castilleja kerryana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is commonly known as Kerry's Indian paintbrush or Kerry’spaintbrush. It was formally described in 2013 and so far it is known only from a small population in the state of Montana, in the Northwestern United States.
Orobanche hederae, the ivy broomrape, is, like other members of the genus Orobanche, a parasitic plant without chlorophyll, and thus totally dependent on its host, which is ivy. It grows to 60 cm (2 ft), with stems in shades of brown and purple, sometimes yellow. The flowers are 10–22 mm (0.4–0.9 in) long, cream in colour with reddish-purple veins.
Serruria elongata or long-stalk spiderhead is a plant belonging to the protea family. It is an erect, hairless shrublet of 1–1½ m (3½–5 ft) high with densely set, alternate, finely divided leaves lower down the plant, with needle-like segments. On top of an up to 30 cm (12 in) long inflorescence stalk are several, loosely arranged heads of pin-like, densely silvery-haired flower buds, each of which opens with four curled, magenta pink corolla lobes. The species is endemic to the southern Western Cape province of South Africa. It flowers during the southern hemisphere winter and early spring, between June and September.
Mairia petiolata is a tufted, variably hairy, perennial plant of up to 15 cm (6 in) assigned to the family Asteraceae. Its leaves are in a ground rosette, and have a stalk of mostly 2–5 cm long and an inverted egg-shaped to elliptic, 61⁄2–9 cm (2.6–4.6 in) long and 2–3 cm wide leaf blade, with a toothed margin. It mostly has two flower heads at the tip of the branches of each erect, dark reddish brown scape. The flower heads have a bell- to cup-shaped involucre that consists of 20–24, purplish, overlapping bracts in 3–4 whorls. These protect 12–16 pink, ray florets, surrounding many yellow disc florets. This species was only seen flowering once, in December. It is known from one location in the Langeberg, Western Cape province of South Africa.
Cycnium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae. Its native range is tropical and southern Africa and Madagascar.
Actinanthella is a small genus of hemiparasitic shrubs in the Loranthaceae family. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Dicranostegia is a monotypic genus of hemiparasitic flowering plants belonging to the family Orobanchaceae, containing the species Dicranostegia orcuttiana, commonly known as Orcutt's bird's beak or Baja bird's beak. It is near-endemic to Baja California, found from Miller's Landing north to Tijuana, but has a few occurrences in southern San Diego County, California. It is differentiated among other similar species in California by its leaves with 8 to 11 lateral lobes that are paired. It was formerly placed in the genus Cordylanthus until phylogenetic analysis led to it being split off. This species is threatened by the destruction of its habitat from urbanization.
Babiana tubiflora is a species of geophyte of 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has whitish mirror-symmetrical flowers with a long narrow tube that split into six tepal lobes, have three stamens, and line- to lance-shaped, laterally compressed leaves. It is an endemic species of South Africa that can be found along the west and south coast of the Western Cape province. It flowers from August to early October.
Babiana brachystachys is a species of geophyte of 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has cream or pale pink, only slightly mirror-symmetrical flowers that are pink on the reverse with a long narrow tube that splits into six tepal lobes, three stamens, a style that divides in three branches opposite the tip of the anthers and line-shaped leaves that are circular in cross section. It is an endemic species of South Africa that can be found on sandy hills and inland dunes in the Northern Cape province. It flowers in September and October.
