Orobanchaceae
Striga

Striga elegans Benth.

First published in Compan. Bot. Mag. 1: 363 (1836)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Kenya to S. Africa. It is a hemiparasitic annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Scrophulariaceae, D. Philcox. Flora Zambesiaca 8:2. 1990

Morphology General Habit
Erect annual herb 11–36 cm. high, stems usually simple, densely strigose, when fresh yellowish green, drying greenish.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves mostly opposite, erect, 8–30(45) x 1–3 mm., linear, densely strigose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences terminal, 3–11(19) cm. long, usually rather dense or interrupted with several opposite pairs of flowers out at the same time.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Lower bracts longer than calyx, upper ones shorter; bracteoles subulate, shorter than calyx.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 8–9 mm. long, including teeth, strigose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla bright scarlet, yellowish outside, fragrant; tube c. 16 mm. long; limb upper lip bilobed, lower lip very deeply 3-lobed, about 1 cm. long.
[FZ]

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

Type
Type: South Africa, 1836, Drege 3591 (K!, holo.)
Morphology General Habit
Erect annual 11–36(–40) cm high.
Morphology Stem
Stems usually simple, obtusely square, densely strigose, when fresh yellowish green, drying greenish
Morphology Leaves
Leaves mostly opposite, erect, linear, 8–30(–45) mm long, 1–3 mm wide, entire, densely strigose
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences terminal, 3–11(–19) cm long, usually rather dense or interrupted with several opposite pairs of flowers out at the same time; lower bracts longer than calyx, upper ones shorter; bracteoles subulate shorter than calyx
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 10-ribbed, 8–9 mm long, including teeth, strigose; tube 6–7(–9) mm, lobes linear to lanceolate, 2–5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla bright scarlet, yellowish outside, fragrant; tube 14–16(–18) mm long, bent and expanding above calyx, densely glandular-pubescent; upper lip bilobed, lower lip very deeply 3-lobed, lobes ovate, 8–10 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule oblong, ± 7 mm long (young).
Ecology
Semi-parasitic on grass roots in upland grassland; 900–1900 m
Conservation
Least Concern (LC); widespread
Distribution
Range: Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa Flora districts: K3 K4 K6 T1 T2 T4 T7
[FTEA]

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]

Uses

Use
None recorded on specimens from our area
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • 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

  • 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