Comandra

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Comandra
Comandra umbellata.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Santalaceae
Genus: Comandra
Nutt.
Species:
C. umbellata
Binomial name
Comandra umbellata
(L.) Nutt.
Synonyms
  • Comandra richardsianaFern.
  • Thesium umbellatumL.
  • Comandra umbellata subsp. elegans (Rochel ex Rchb.) Piehl
  • Comandra elegans (Rochel ex Rchb.) Rchb. f, 1849 [1] [2]
  • Comandra pallidaA. DC.

Comandra is a monotypic genus [3] containing the single species Comandra umbellata. Its common names include bastard toadflax, umbellate bastard toadflax, and common comandra. [4] The plant has a disjunct distribution; [3] its four subspecies occur in North America and the Mediterranean. [5]

Contents

Description

Comandra is a perennial herb growing from rhizomes, often in drier or semi-sandy soils, [6] to about 8 to 34 centimetres (3+14 to 13+12 in) tall. The leaves are up to 3.3 cm long and are alternately arranged. Growing in flat or roundish clusters, the flowers lack petals, but have five greenish-white sepals. [6] The flowers contain both male and female structures, and are insect-pollinated. The fruit is a drupe 4–6 mm thick. [7] [8]

Subspecies include: [9]

Comandra umbellata is hemiparasitic; it is not holoparasitic as it obtains some nutrition through photosynthesis. [10] It has a wide host range, parasitizing over 200 known plant species. [7] These include: Acer , Antennaria , Aster , Betula , Carex , Solidago , Fragaria , Populus , Quercus , Rosa , Rubus , Vaccinium and some grasses. [10] [8]

In Europe the common English name bastard toadflax is used for plants of the genus Thesium .

Pathogens

Comandra umbellata is the alternate host for the comandra blister rust ( Cronartium comandrae ), a rust fungus that affects pine species in North America. Comandra blister rust can cause tree losses of up to 7% in some regions where it is common. [11]

When C. umbellata is infected by the rust aeciospores from the pine host, yellow, blister-like spots bearing urediniospores appear on the leaves of the plant within 20 days. In the following weeks, teliospores develop on brown, hairlike telia that germinate to produce basidiospores, the fungal life stage capable of infecting pines. [12]

Uses

A decoction of the plant parts was made by the Navajo people for narcotic and other medicinal usage. In times of food shortage, the berries were used by Native Americans as a food source, [13] and though small, they have a sweet taste. [14] The fruit may contain toxic selenium if grown in soil rich in the element. [6]

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<i>Ribes</i> Genus of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales

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<i>Camassia quamash</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Fragaria virginiana</i> Species of strawberry

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<i>Maianthemum racemosum</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Sambucus nigra</i> Species of flowering plant in the moschatel family Adoxaceae

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<i>Phoenicaulis</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Castilleja applegatei</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Festuca idahoensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Festuca idahoensis is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common. It can be found in many ecosystems, from shady forests to open plains grasslands.

<i>Ribes aureum</i> Species of plant

Ribes aureum, known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ribes native to North America.

<i>Antennaria rosea</i> Species of flowering plant

Antennaria rosea is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name rosy pussytoes. Other common names include cat's foot and mountain everlasting. The second part of its scientific name, rosea, is Latin for pink. It is widespread across much of Canada including all three Arctic territories, as well as Greenland, the western and north-central United States, and the Mexican state of Baja California.

<i>Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the family Asteraceae of the Americas known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.

<i>Crepis modocensis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Ribes oxyacanthoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Ribes oxyacanthoides is a species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family known by the common name Canadian gooseberry. Its various subspecies have common names of their own. It is native to North America, where it occurs in Alaska through much of Canada and the western and north-central United States.

<i>Ribes aciculare</i> Species of flowering plant

Ribes aciculare is a species of flowering plant in the currant/gooseberry family Grossulariacea, generally regarded as closely related to Ribes burejense. It is native to central and northern Asia, and has been reported as native to Altay, Kazakhstan, Krasnoyarsk, Mongolia, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang. Its habitats vary from stony hill and mountain slopes to forest margins and thickets. In Northern China it has been found at altitudes of 1,500-2,100 metres. The plant is very cold hardy, and can tolerate temperatures down to -20°C during dormancy.

References

  1. Reichenbach, Heinrich Gustav, Icones florae germanicae et helveticae 11: 11. 1849.
  2. Comandra elegans at Tropicos
  3. 1 2 Der, J. P.; Nickrent, D. L. (2008). "A molecular phylogeny of Santalaceae (Santalales)" (PDF). Systematic Botany. 33 (1): 107–16. doi:10.1600/036364408783887438. S2CID   85999681.
  4. Comandra umbellata. NatureServe. 2012.
  5. Mabberley, D. J. (2000). The Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  6. 1 2 3 Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 128. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.
  7. 1 2 Comandra umbellata. Arches National Park, Utah. United States National Park Service.
  8. 1 2 Rhoads, Ann; Block, Timothy (2007-08-08). The Plants of Pennsylvania (2nd ed.). Philadelphia Pa: University of Pennsylvania press. ISBN   978-0-8122-4003-0.
  9. Comandra umbellata. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  10. 1 2 Moss, E. H. (1926). "Parasitism in the genus Comandra". New Phytologist. 25 (4): 264–276. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1926.tb06695.x . JSTOR   2428127.
  11. Woods, A. J.; et al. (2000). "Predicted impacts of hard pine stem rusts on lodgepole pine dominated stands in central British Columbia". Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 30 (3): 476–481. doi:10.1139/cjfr-30-3-476.
  12. Johnson, D. W. (1986). "Comandra Blister Rust". Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet. 62.
  13. Betty B. Derig & Margaret C. Fuller (2001). Wild Berries of the West. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 159. ISBN   978-0-87842-433-7.
  14. "Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata)". Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Retrieved 3 December 2013.