Orobanche zajaciorum Piwow. (2015: 215)

Piwowarczyk, Renata, Pedraja, Óscar Sánchez, Khutsishvili, Manana & Kharazishvili, Davit, 2023, Holoparasitic Orobanchaceae in Georgia (Caucasus): taxonomic revision, diversity, distribution, habitats and host range, Phytotaxa 604 (1), pp. 1-103 : 51

7. Orobanche zajaciorum Piwow. (2015: 215)

. Type ― GEORGIA (holotype designated by Piwowarczyk 2015: 215): “ Samtskhe Javakheti : steep rocky slopes, S exposure, on the road between Tsaghveri and Kimotesubani [ Timotesubani ], 10 km ESE of Borjomi, 1056 m, 2 June 2014 ”, R. Piwowarczyk (holotype KTC!); isotype (KRA!). Fig. 32 .

General distribution: —Probably endemic to the Caucasus, occurring in Georgia (Piwowarczyk 2015), Armenia (Piwowarczyk in Nobis et al. 2016, Piwowarczyk et al. 2019), and in Russia, NW Greater Caucasus: Republic of Adygea ( Rätzel & Uhlich 2016).

Distribution: —Two localities in the Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli provinces ( Fig. 33 ).

Habitat: —Rocky and steppe slopes, 1000–1400 m.

Hosts: — Scutellaria sp. (Lamiaceae) , such as S. orientalis L., S. sosnowskyi Takht. ( S. orientalis subsp. sosnowskyi (Takht.) Fed. ).

Phenology: —Flowering end May–June, fruiting (June) July.

Conservation status: —Critically Endangered (CR) – B 1 ab (iii) + 2 ab (iii). Endemic to the Caucasus. Only two locations are known in Georgia. The populations are small, ca. 10 and 20 individuals. EOO is 100 km 2 and AOO is less than 10 km 2. The known localities occurred outside protected areas. The locality between Tsaghveri and Timotesubani is threatened due to the close proximity of the main road and mechanical destruction threatening it through landslides of soil and rock material down the slope (Piwowarczyk 2015).

Note: — O. zajaciorum is clearly separated from other species based on molecular data. However, its precise relationship to other Orobanche remains unclear; it forms a separated clade with O. lutea , but with low support ( Piwowarczyk et al. 2021a). Morphologically, O. zajaciorum is a close relative to O. subsect. Orobanche (O. subsect. Galeatae sensu Teryokhin).

Specimens examined: — GEORGIA. Kvemo Kartli prov.: Kojori NW, NE of Udzo Monastery , steppe slope, 41°40’37”N, 44°42’11”E, 1375 m, 6 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk ( KTC) ; Samtskhe-Javakheti prov.: 10 km ESE of Borjomi , steep rocky slopes, S exposure, on the road between Tsaghveri and Timotesubani, 1056 m, 2 June 2014, R. Piwowarczyk ( KTC, TBI) .

Figures

FIGURE 32. Orobanche zajaciorum. A–D. General habit. E–G. Flower, front view. I–J. Flower, front view. K, N. Representative habitats (K. Kvemo Kartli prov., Kojori NW, near Udzo Monastery. N. Samtskhe-Javakheti prov., between Tsaghveri and Timotesubani). L, M. Host, Scutellaria sosnowskyi. Photos by R. Piwowarczyk.

FIGURE 33. Distribution of Orobanche zajaciorum in Georgia.