Striga hermonthica
Species of flowering plant / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Striga hermonthica, commonly known as purple witchweed[1] or giant witchweed, is a hemiparasitic plant[1] that belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. It is devastating to major crops such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and rice (Oryza sativa).[2] In sub-Saharan Africa, apart from sorghum and rice, it also infests maize (Zea mays), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), and sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum).[3]
Purple witchweed | |
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Striga hermonthica flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Orobanchaceae |
Genus: | Striga |
Species: | S. hermonthica |
Binomial name | |
Striga hermonthica (Delile) Benth. | |
Striga hermonthica has undergone horizontal gene transfer from Sorghum to its nuclear genome. The S. hermonthica gene, ShContig9483, is most like a Sorghum bicolor gene, and additionally shows significant but lesser similarity to a gene from Oryza sativa. It shows no similarity to any known eudicot gene.[2]