''Orobanche'', commonly known as broomrape, is a genus of over 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
Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...
, 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
''Orobanche hederae'', the ivy broomrape, is, like other members of the genus ''Orobanche'', a parasitic plant without chlorophyll, and thus totally dependent on its host, which is ivy. It grows to , with stems in shades of brown and purple, some ...
(''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
.
Branched broomrape
''Orobanche ramosa'' is a species of broomrape known by the common names hemp broomrape and branched broomrape. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is known in many other places as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed.
...
''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
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
,
potato,
cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
,
coleus,
bell pepper
The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...
,
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
,
celery, and
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s. In heavily infested areas, branched broomrape can cause total crop failure.
The bean broomrape ''
Orobanche crenata'', which targets the
fava bean
''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Variet ...
, has stems that are gathered and eaten in the region of
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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, in southern
Italy, where they are given the name of .
[Luard, E. ''European peasant cookery'', Grub Street, 2004, p.380]
Etymology
The
generic name ''Orobanche'' comes from the Greek ( "
bitter vetch") + ( (I) "strangle").
The common name "broomrape" comes from the English "broom" + Latin ('tuber').
Selected species
Note that this list includes names of more recently described species that may, under further
taxonomic
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
scrutiny, prove to be
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
s of a single species. Also, some species formerly included in this genus have been referred to ''
Conopholis
''Conopholis'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae.
Species
*''Conopholis alpina'', alpine cancer-root
**''Conopholis alpina'' var. ''mexicana'', Mexican cancer-root
*''Conopholis americana
''Conopholis americana ...
''.
: List sources :
References
External links
Control of Branched Broomrape: A Literature Review
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157302
Orobanchaceae genera
Parasitic plants