Orobanche

Orobanche, commonly known as broomrape, is a genus of almost 200 species of small parasitic herbaceous plants, mostly native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. It is the type genus of the broomrape family Orobanchaceae.
Description
Broomrapes are generally small, only tall depending on species. They are best recognized by the yellow- to straw-coloured stems completely lacking chlorophyll, bearing yellow, white, or blue snapdragon-like flowers. The flower shoots are scaly, with a dense terminal spike of 10-20 flowers in most species, although single in one-flowered broomrape (Orobanche uniflora). The leaves are merely triangular scales. The seeds are minute, tan or brown, blackening with age. These plants generally flower from late winter to late spring. When they are not flowering, no part of the plants is visible above the surface of the soil.
Parasitism
As they have no chlorophyll, the broomrapes are totally dependent on other plants for nutrients. Broomrape seeds remain dormant in the soil, often for many years, until stimulated to germinate by certain compounds produced by living plant roots. Broomrape seedlings put out a root-like growth, which attaches to the roots of nearby hosts. Once attached to a host, the broomrape robs its host of water and nutrients.
Some species are only able to parasitise a single plant species, and they are often named after the plant they parasitise, such as ivy broomrape (O. hederae) being restricted to parasitising ivy. Others can infect several genera, such as the lesser broomrape O. minor, which lives on clover and other related Fabaceae.
Branched broomrape Orobanche ramosa, native to central and southwestern Europe but widely naturalised elsewhere, is considered a major threat to crops in some areas. Plants that it targets are tomato, eggplant, potato, cabbage, coleus, bell pepper, sunflower, celery, and beans. In heavily infested areas, branched broomrape can cause total crop failure.
The bean broomrape Orobanche crenata, which targets the fava bean, has stems that are gathered and eaten in the Italian region of Apulia.
Etymology
The generic name Orobanche comes from the Greek , from ("bitter vetch") + ((I) "strangle"). The common name "broomrape" comes from the English "broom" (a plant) + Latin ('tuber').
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus Orobanche:
Orobanche aconiti-lycoctoni
Orobanche aegyptiaca — Egyptian broomrape; Fenzhi broomrape
Orobanche alba — Thyme broomrape; baihua broomrape
Orobanche alsatica — Alsace broomrape; Duose broomrape
Orobanche amethystea — Eryngium broomrape
Orobanche amoena
Orobanche anatolica
Orobanche androssovii
Orobanche angustelaciniata
Orobanche apuana
Orobanche arenaria — Wormwood broomrape
Orobanche arizonica
Orobanche armena
Orobanche arpica
Orobanche artemisiae-campestris
Orobanche astragali
Orobanche auranitica
Orobanche australiana
Orobanche australis
Orobanche ballii
Orobanche ballotae
Orobanche balsensis
Orobanche bartlingii
Orobanche baumanniorum
Orobanche beauverdii
Orobanche benkertii
Orobanche boninsimae
Orobanche borissovae
Orobanche brachypoda
Orobanche brassicae
Orobanche bulbosa
Orobanche bungeana
Orobanche caesia
Orobanche calendulae
Orobanche californica
Orobanche campanulae
Orobanche camphorosmae
Orobanche camptolepis
Orobanche canescens
Orobanche caryophyllacea — Bedstraw broomrape; Simao broomstraw
Orobanche castellana
Orobanche cathae
Orobanche caucasica
Orobanche centaurina
Orobanche cernua — Nodding broomrape; Wanguan broomrape
Orobanche chilensis
Orobanche chironii
Orobanche chrysacanthi
Orobanche cilicica
Orobanche cistanchoides
Orobanche clarkei — Xizang broomrape
Orobanche clausonis
Orobanche coelestis — Changchi broomrape
Orobanche coerulescens
Orobanche cohenii
Orobanche connata
Orobanche cooperi — Cooper's broomrape
Orobanche corymbosa — Flat-top broomrape
Orobanche crenata — Bean broomrape
Orobanche cumana
Orobanche cypria
Orobanche cyrenaica
Orobanche cyrnea
Orobanche dalmatica
Orobanche daninii
Orobanche densiflora
Orobanche denudata
Orobanche dhofarensis
Orobanche ducellieri
Orobanche dugesii
Orobanche ebuli
Orobanche elatior — Knapweed broomrape; Duanchun broomrape
Orobanche eriophora
Orobanche esulae
Orobanche fasciculata — Cluster broomrape; fascicled broomrape
Orobanche flava — Butterbur broomrape
Orobanche foetida
Orobanche fuscovinosa
Orobanche gamosepala
Orobanche georgii-reuteri
Orobanche gigantea
Orobanche glabricaulis
Orobanche gracilis — Slender broomrape
Orobanche gratiosa
Orobanche grenieri
Orobanche grisebachii
Orobanche grossheimii
Orobanche gussoneana
Orobanche hadroantha
Orobanche haenseleri
Orobanche hansii
Orobanche hederae – Ivy broomrape
Orobanche hedypnoidis
Orobanche heldreichii
Orobanche hirtiflora
Orobanche humbertii
Orobanche hymenocalyx
Orobanche hypertomentosa
Orobanche iammonensis
Orobanche iberica
Orobanche inexspectata
Orobanche ingens
Orobanche inulae
Orobanche javakhetica
Orobanche kashmirica
Orobanche kelleri — Duanchi broomrape
Orobanche kotschyi — Yitong broomrape
Orobanche krylowii — Siduomao broomrape
Orobanche kurdica
Orobanche lainzii
Orobanche laserpitii-sileris
Orobanche latisquama
Orobanche lavandulacea
Orobanche laxissima
Orobanche leptantha
Orobanche libanotica
Orobanche litorea
Orobanche longibracteata
Orobanche loscosii
Orobanche lucorum — Barberry Broomrape
Orobanche ludoviciana — Prairie broomrape; desert broomrape
Orobanche lutea — Medick broomrape
Orobanche lycoctoni
Orobanche megalantha — Dahua broomrape
Orobanche minor — Common broomrape; clover broomrape; lesser broomrape; small broomrape
Orobanche mlokosiewiczii
Orobanche mongolica — Zhonghua broomrape
Orobanche montserratii
Orobanche multiflora
Orobanche mupinensis — Baoxing broomrape
Orobanche muteliformis
Orobanche mutelii
Orobanche nana
Orobanche nowackiana
Orobanche olbiensis
Orobanche ombrochares — Maoyao broomrape
Orobanche orientalis
Orobanche owerinii
Orobanche oxyloba
Orobanche palaestina
Orobanche pancicii
Orobanche parishii
Orobanche penduliflora
Orobanche perangustata
Orobanche persica
Orobanche picridis-hieracioidis — Oxtongue broomrape
Orobanche pinorum
Orobanche portoilicitana
Orobanche psila
Orobanche pubescens — Hairy broomrape
Orobanche pulchella
Orobanche purpurea — Yarrow broomrape
Orobanche pycnostachya — Huanghua broomrape
Orobanche ramosa — Branched broomrape; hemp broomrape
Orobanche rapum-genistae — Greater broomrape
Orobanche rechingeri
Orobanche resedarum
Orobanche reticulata — Thistle broomrape
Orobanche reuteriana
Orobanche rigens
Orobanche riparia
Orobanche robbinsii
Orobanche rosmarina
Orobanche salviae
Orobanche sanguinea
Orobanche santolinae
Orobanche schelkovnikovii
Orobanche schultzii
Orobanche schweinfurthii
Orobanche septemloba
Orobanche serbica
Orobanche serratocalyx
Orobanche sinensis — Sichuan broomrape
Orobanche singarensis
Orobanche sintenisii
Orobanche solenanthi
Orobanche sordida — Danhuang broomrape
Orobanche spectabilis
Orobanche staehelinae
Orobanche stocksii
Orobanche subbaetica
Orobanche sulphurea
Orobanche tacnaensis
Orobanche tarapacana
Orobanche tetuanensis
Orobanche teucrii — Germander broomrape
Orobanche transcaucasica
Orobanche trichocalyx
Orobanche tricholoba
Orobanche turcica
Orobanche uniflora — Naked broomrape; one-flower cancer-root
Orobanche uralensis — Duochi broomrape
Orobanche valida
Orobanche vallicola
Orobanche variegata
Orobanche weberbaueri
Orobanche yuennanensis — Dianlie Broomrape
Orobanche zajaciorum
Orobanche zosimii
References
External links
Control of Branched Broomrape: A Literature Review
Orobanchaceae genera
Parasitic plants