Orobanchaceae
Striga

Striga baumannii Engl.

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 23: 515 (1897)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. Tropical Africa to W. Central Kenya. It is a hemiparasitic perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Scrophulariaceae, S.A. Ghazanfar, F.N. Hepper & D. Philcox. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2008

Type
Type: Sierra Leone, without locality, Scott-Elliot 5085 (K!, lecto.)
Morphology General Habit
Erect, glabrous perennial with stout base and fleshy roots.
Morphology Stem
Stems 30–90 cm high, erect, branched above, glaucous
Morphology Leaves
Leaves reduced to scales clasping stems, nodes 1–4 cm apart
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences slender, up to 20 cm long with numerous pairs of flowers appressed to stem; bracts lanceolate, shorter than calyx, bracteoles subulate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx narrowly tubular, 15–veined, ± 7 mm long; teeth 2 mm long, glabrous, ligneous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla dull yellow (maroon fide U.K.W.F.), glabrous; tube slightly longer than calyx, curved, expanding above, 2-lipped, 5-lobed; lobes 1–2 mm long, recurved (in dry state), acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 3 mm long, pubescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule oblong, ± 6 mm long, ± 1.5 mm wide.
Ecology
Among Hyparrhenia in Combretum woodland and moist grassland; ± 1650 m
Note
A specimen from Tanzania, Moshi, Iringa District: H. horsburgh-Porter s.n. (BM) is similar but with broader leaves (5 mm) and larger flowers (23 mm in diameter). Mohamed et al. (op. cit. p. 95) exclude S. baumannii from Striga on the basis of its tuberous roots and ligneous calyx and suggest that it could belong to a new genus.
Distribution
Range: Mali to Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Congo-Kinshasa Flora districts: U4 K3
[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Tall glaucous herb 2 ft. or more high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers dull-yellow, in long slender spikes
Morphology Roots
Roots subsucculent from a fairly stout stock
Ecology
Parasitic on grass roots in moist grassland
Note
Drying grey.
[FWTA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • 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

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 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 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0