OROBANCHE SCHULTZII

Family and Genus:- See- OROBANCHACEAE/Sect. TRIONYCHON

Common Names:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- Phelipanche schultzii, Phelypaea schultzii.

Meaning:- Orobanche (Gr) Legume-strangler. (one species is parasitic on

legumes)

Schultzii (L) For Friedrich Wilhelm Schultz (1804-1876) A German

pharmacist and botanist, and a specialist of the family Orobanchaceae.

Stems:-

1) 10-60 x 0·4-0·8 cm, swollen at the base, simple or branched, glandular-

pubescent.

Leaves:-

2) 5-10 mm, numerous, ovate to lanceolate.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, 7 x 3-4 cm, dense above, lax below, glandular-hairy, most of the

flowers shortly pedicellate.

2) Bracts, 8-12 mm, lanceolate;

a) bracteoles, linear-lanceolate, slightly shorter than the calyx.

3) Calyx, 8-12 mm;

a) teeth, 2-3 times as long as the tube, linear-lanceolate subulate at rhe apex.

4) Corolla, 16-21 mm, glandular-hairy, erecto-patent, tubular to narrowly

campanulate, nearly straight, white at the base, blue to violet distally;

a) lower lip, lobes, elliptical, acute or acuminate.

5) Stamen;

a) filaments, glabrous or subglabrous, inserted 4-5 mm above the base of the

corolla.

b) anthers, hairy.

6) Stigma, white.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, 7-8 mm.

Key features:-

1) Leaves, 5-10 mm.

2) Bracteoles, linear-lanceolate.

3) Lobes of lower lip of corolla acute to acuminate.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Rocky slopes with phrygana, fallow fields. 0-900 m.

Host:- On various herbs, most commonly Umbelliferae. Reported to be parasitic on

Cynara cornigera..

Distribution:- Widespread in the Mediterranean and SW Asia. Currently only know

from the extreme NE of Crete. Rare.

Flowering time:- Apr to early June.

Photos by:- Yannis Zacharakis