Orobanche

Branched broomrape Orobanche ramosa, copyright Gail Hampshire.

Belongs within: Orobanchaceae.
Contains: Orobanche section Orobanche.

Orobanche, broomrapes, is a diverse genus of holoparasitic plants found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere though some species have become widely distributed as pasture weeds.

Characters (from Hickman 1993): Annual or perennial, generally glandular-puberulent above; root attachment sometimes tuber-like. Stem simple or branched. Inflorescence generally more or less spike-like (lower flowers often short-pedicelled or on short branches), generally dense; flowers generally >20; bracts generally lanceolate to deltate (wider on peduncle); bractlets 0 or 2. Flower with calyx lobes generally 4–5; corolla glandular-puberulent (hairs short and tack-shaped or long-stalked), generally lacking ring of hairs at stamen bases, upper lip erect to reflexed, generally two-lobed, lower lip three-lobed, spreading, yellow-lined; anthers glabrous to hairy; stigma lobes 2, spreading or peltate. Fruit two-valved; placentas generally 2 or 4, often lobed. Seed <0.7 mm.

<==Orobanche [Orobanchoideae]
    |  i. s.: O. australiana [=O. cernua var. australiana] BR65
    |         O. hydrocotylei Colenso 1889 A61
    |         O. oxyloba PT98
    |--+--O. sect. Orobanche SP04
    |  `--Diphelypaea SP04
    |       |--D. coccinea SP04
    |       `--D. tournefortii SP04
    `--+--O. sect. Trionychon [=Phelipanche] SP04
       |    |--O. aegyptiaca [incl. O. indica] SP04
       |    |--O. arenaria SP04
       |    |--O. bungeana SP04
       |    |--O. caesia [=Phelipanche caesia] SP04
       |    |--O. coelestis SP04
       |    |--O. graciosa SP04
       |    |--O. lavandulacea SP04
       |    |--O. mutelii [=O. ramosa ssp. mutelii] SP04
       |    |--O. nana [=O. ramosa ssp. nana] SP04
       |    |--O. nowackiana SP04
       |    |--O. olbiensis SP04
       |    |--O. pulchella SP04
       |    |--O. purpurea [=Phelipanche purpurea] SP04
       |    |    |--O. p. var. purpurea SP04 [=O. uniflora var. purpurea H93]
       |    |    `--O. p. var. bohemica SP04
       |    |--O. ramosa SP04
       |    |--O. rosmarina SP04
       |    `--O. tunetana SP04
       `--+--O. sect. Gymnocaulis [=Aphyllon] SP04
          |    |--O. fasciculata SP04 [=Thalesia fasciculata SP04; incl. O. fasciculata var. franciscana H93]
          |    `--O. uniflora SP04 [incl. O. uniflora var. minuta H93, O. uniflora var. sedi H93]
          |         |--O. u. ssp. uniflora SP04
          |         `--O. u. ssp. occidentalis SP04
          `--O. sect. Myzorrhiza SP04 [incl. O. sect. Nothaphyllon H93]
               |--O. bulbosa SP04
               |--O. californica SP04
               |    |--O. c. ssp. californica [incl. O. grayana var. nelsonii, O. grayana var. violacea] H93
               |    |--O. c. ssp. condensa SP04
               |    |--O. c. ssp. feudgei [=O. grayana var. feudgei] H93
               |    |--O. c. ssp. grandis SP04
               |    |--O. c. ssp. grayana SP04
               |    `--O. c. ssp. jepsonii [=O. grayana var. jepsonii] H93
               |--O. cooperi SP04 (see below for synonymy)
               |--O. corymbosa [=O. californica var. corymbosa] H93
               |    |--O. c. ssp. corymbosa SP04
               |    `--O. c. ssp. mutabilis Heckard in Taylor & MacBryde 1978 SP04
               |--O. ludoviciana [=Myzorrhiza ludoviciana] SP04
               |--O. parishii SP04
               |    |--O. p. ssp. parishii [=O. californica var. parishii] SP04
               |    `--O. p. ssp. brachyloba SP04
               |--O. pinorum SP04
               |--O. valida SP04
               |    |--O. v. ssp. valida SP04
               |    `--O. v. ssp. howellii SP04
               `--O. vallicola SP04

Orobanche cooperi SP04 [=O. ludoviciana var. cooperi SP04; incl. O. ludoviciana var. latiloba H93, O. multicaulis SP04]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[BR65] Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson. 1965. Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae–Compositae. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: Flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[SP04] Schneeweiss, G. M., T. Palomeque, A. l. E. Colwell & H. Weiss-Schneeweiss. 2004. Chromosome numbers and karyotype evolution in holoparasitic Orobanche (Orobanchaceae) and related genera. American Journal of Botany 91 (3): 439–448.