Orobanchaceae
Striga

Striga gracillima Melch.

First published in Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 11: 681 (1932)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. & S. Tanzania to Zambia. It is an annual 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: Tanzania, Rungwe District: Kyimbila, Stolz 1304 (?B, holo.; BM!, K!, iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Annual herb.
Morphology Stem
Stems erect, 25–50 cm high, simple or sparsely branched, slender, scabrid to pubescent, hairs pointing upwards
Morphology Leaves
Leaves more or less thoughout the length of the stem, spreading, linear to linear-lanceolate, 14–50 mm long, 1–4 mm wide, entire, scabrid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers alternate in terminal raceme; bracts similar to the leaves, 10–25 mm long, 1–2 mm wide; bracteoles as bracts, as long as the calyx; pedicels 1–2 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 5-ribbed, 5–7 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes unequal, linear to subulate, 1–2 mm, the adaxial < 1 mm long, shorter than the tube, pubescent on the ribs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla purple to pinkish mauve, tube 6–8 mm, and expanding distally, hairy outside, never glandular; lobes obovate, 1–3 mm spreading; upper-lip obovate, 4–5 mm, emarginate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule oblong, 4–5 mm, usually included in the calyx.
Ecology
In woodland and grassland, on slopes and on grey sandy soil; 1000–1800 m
Conservation
Least Concern (LC); not common but not at threat
Distribution
Range: Zambia, Malawi Flora districts: T4 T7 T8
[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 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