Orobanchaceae
Orobanche

Orobanche ramosa L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 633 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Macaronesia, W. & Central Medit. to NE. Tropical Africa. It is a holoparasitic annual or perennial and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology Stem
Stems up to c. 30 cm tall, slender, simple or branched
Morphology Leaves
Scale-leaves ovate, acute
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence lax to dense, each flower with 1 bract and 2 linear-lanceolate bracteoles
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 6–8 mm long, entire or with a dorsal split, 4-toothed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 10–22 mm long, half erect to ± sharply curved, usually white or cream with a blue or violet limb, glandular-pubescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens inserted in lower part of corolla-tube
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule with free valves at apex when ripe.
Distribution
N2 Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Socotra, East Africa, North Africa and eastwards to Iran, central and southern Europe, introduced elsewhere.
Ecology
Altitude range 1300–2025 m.
[FSOM]

Orobanchaceae, R. A. Graham. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1957

Morphology General Habit
Stem usually slender, simple or branched, pale yellow; scales ovate, dark brown at maturity.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence varying from elongated and interrupted, terminally ± acute, to short, congested and terminally rounded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts concolorous with the stem when young.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracteoles
Bracteoles lanceolate-filiform, nearly reaching to the tip of the bract.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx entire but sometimes with a deep dorsal sinus, sessile or the lower ones often stalked, 4-dentate (the dorsal tooth on each side sometimes very reduced); teeth elongate-triangular, or triangular filiform, acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla hairy, concolorously pale mauvish-blue, or with a white throat, or pale yellow with a pale blue limb, half-erect when immature and remaining so later or bent outwards to the horizontal; varyingly constricted above the ovary, thence widening into a rather narrow, funnel-shaped throat; upper lip porrect, shallowly bilobed, the lobes rounded to oval, becoming marginally revolute; lower lip equally trilobed or the central lobe broader, the lobes ovate, rounded or truncate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens inserted about 3 mm. from the base of the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
Stigmas obscurely lobed, whitish.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule ovoid-spheroid, the valves free at the apex when ripe.
[FTEA]

Orobanchaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Morphology General Habit
A herb with pale yellow stems about 1 ft. high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers mauve-blue or pale yellow with a blue lip
Ecology
Parasitic on a wide range of hosts.
[FWTA]

Sources

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images