Orobanchaceae
Striga

Striga linearifolia (Schumach. & Thonn.) Hepper

First published in Kew Bull. 14: 416 (1960)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical 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
Slender erect stem 20–55 cm. high, usually single or 2 or 3 from base, of ten branched, branches erect, square in section, covered with appressed grey ascending hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves inconspicuous, appressed to stem, opposite, linear-subulate, 4–10 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts similar to leaves, slightly broader.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers opposite in terminal spike.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx tube 2 mm. long, subulate lobes 4 mm. long, 5-nerved, appressed-pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla whitish, tinged purple to bluish purple, with pink spot inside lower lip, densely appressed-pubescent outside, angled about middle, tube 6–11 mm. long, lobes 2–5 mm. long, narrow.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule included in calyx, acute with persistent style or base of style.
[FZ]

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

Morphology General Habit
Erect herb, simple or little-branched from near the base, stems ribbed and square, 1-2 ft. high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers pale pink, pale lilac or white in rather dense spikes 3-12 ins. long
Ecology
Moist ground in savanna 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]

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

Type
Type: Ghana, Thonning 284 (C, syn.; P-JU!, iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb.
Morphology Stem
Stems erect, 4-angled and -furrowed or -winged, 10–50 cm high, simple or sparsely branched, branches arched, pilose or scabrid, hairs grey, appressed, pointing downwards
Morphology Leaves
Leaves ascending, linear to scale-like and reduced, 2–7 mm long, ± 1 mm wide, entire, pubescent, slightly scabrid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in spikes, shorter than the vegetative part of the stem, alternate, the upper ones opposite; bracts similar to the leaves, upper bracts 7–8 mm long, about as long as calyx; lower bracts shorter than the calyx
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx tubular, 5-ribbed, 7–10 mm long; calyx-tube 4–5 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes unequal, linear, 3–4 mm long, pubescent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla pink to violet or whitish tinged purple with a pink spot inside lower lip, 2-lipped, 12–15 mm long; tube bent and expanding distally, pubescent to glandular-pubescent externally; lobes ± 3 mm long, acute, the upper lobes shorter
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule oblong, 4 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, usually included in the calyx, acute with persistent style or base of style.
Ecology
Seasonally wet grassland, semi-parasitic on grass roots; 1100–1700 m
Conservation
Least Concern (LC); common and widespread
Distribution
Range: West Africa, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan Flora districts: U2 U3 U 4 ; T1 T2 T3 T4
[FTEA]

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

  • 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