Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Striga asiatica
FAMILY
Orobanchaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
See more pictures at www.invasive.org.
Read Which Weed is Witchweed from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
The flowers are bright red, 9-11 mm long, tubular and with 5 flaring lobes; perhaps only Cardinal-flower (Lobelia cardinalis) can match its flower color in NC. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
A serious weed, Striga has been the subject of eradication efforts and quarantine policies since its appearance in our area, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Striga asiatica
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Striga asiatica
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17 (2019)
Striga asiatica
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-22-001:
Striga lutea FAMILY Scrophulariaceae
COMMON NAME:
Asiatic Witchweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_331
)
Julia Scher, Federal Noxious Weeds Disseminules, USDA APHIS ITP, Bugwood.org bug_5376868
Month Unknown
)
Florida Division of Plant Industry Archive, Bugwood.org bug_5384180
Month Unknown
Stems erect, rarely branched. Corolla tube apically strongly curved, per Flora of China.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Striga asiatica
FAMILY
Orobanchaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Striga asiatica
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Striga asiatica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17
Striga asiatica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-22-001:
Striga lutea
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
2936
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Cultivated fields, parasitic on the roots of corn and other grasses, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Old World
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC List of Regulated Pest Plant Species, 2017
- USDA Federal Noxious Weeds, 091820
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite or subopposite
FLOWER:
Summer
Red
2-lipped corolla
4 included stamens (2 long, 2 short)
Flowers in leaf axils, solitary or in a spike upward
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".