Orobanche cumana Wallroth (1825: 58)

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 : 37-39

2. Orobanche cumana Wallroth (1825: 58) .

Type:— RUSSIA (lectotype designated by Tzvelev 1981: 329): “ О. arenaria M. Bieb. In arena mobili ad Wolgam versus Astrachan lecta, 1803” (LE s.n.). Homotypic synonyms:— O. cernua subsp. cumana (Wallr.) Soó (1972: 187) ( Turland et al. 2018: Art.11.2); O. cernua var. cumana (Wallr.) Beck (1930: 128) ; O. cernua f. cumana (Wallr.) Beck (1890: 143) . Heterotypic synonyms:— O. cernua subsp. parviflora Kotov (1935: 90) ; O. cernua var. bicolor (C.A. Mey.) Reut. in Candolle (1847: 32). Fig. 22 .

General distribution: —From Central Asia to southeast Europe, where it parasitises Asteraceae sp. ( Artemisia , Xanthium ). However, it is also a very important parasitic weed on crops (e.g., Helianthus annuus L., Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. and Nicotiana tabacum L.), and is present from the southwest to east and southeast of Europe ( Spain and France to Ukraine and Russia), rarely in Central Europe (e.g., Hungary and Slovakia), and from there to southwestern Asia (e.g., Iran, Jordan, Turkey and Israel), south Asia (e.g., India and Pakistan), Central Asia (e.g., Kazakhstan) and East Asia ( China). Recently this weed has been reported from North Africa ( Morocco and Tunisia) (after Piwowarczyk et al. 2019).

Distribution: —Mainly in central, southern, southeastern Georgia (Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Tbilisi and Kakheti provinces) ( Fig. 23 ).

Habitat: —Steppe slopes, semideserts, roadsides, halophytic vegetation, around railway tracks, pastures, ruderal and inter-segetal habitats (it is possible that it may also parasitise cultivated plants, but this requires confirmation by targeted field studies), usually at (200)500–900(1300) m. Numerous in Artemisia -steppes especially in Shida Kartli prov., on the steppe areas in the Mtkvari river valley

Hosts: —Here, on Artemisia sp. and occasionally Bassia sp. (Asteraceae) , such as A. lerchiana Weber , A. fragrans Willd. (= A. meyeriana (Besser) Grossh. , non Besser 1841), A. scoparia Waldst. & Kit. , Bassia prostrata (L.) Beck (syn. Kochia prostrata (L.) Schrad.).

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

Conservation status: —Least Concern (LC). The species has a rather wide distribution in Georgia (5 provinces), and there are usually very large numbers of individuals in localities. EOO is ca. 12,000 km 2, and AOO is ca. 2000 km 2. Many of the localities in Georgia occur in dynamic, ruderal and inter-segetal habitats, or on intensively grazed land and pastures. In many parts of its general range, it is a noxious weed of important agricultural fields, infesting crops including mainly sunflower, tobacco, and tomato. In Georgia, it needs further observation also in crops.

Notes: —In Georgia, today we only know this species under its typical form as parasitic on wild plants of the genus Artemisia and occasionally Bassia . It is possible that it may appear also in crops, thus the species requires further observation and monitoring in crops. This taxon has been also named using different binomials depending on the species that it parasitises, e.g., O. nicotianae Wight (1850: 179) and O. cernua subsp. rajahmundrica Teryokhin (1996: 246) on tobacco and O. cumana var. helianthi Tzvelev (2015: 214) , where it is parasitic on sunflowers (see also notes in Piwowarczyk et al. 2019).

Specimens examined: — GEORGIA. Kakheti prov.: SW of Dedoplistskaro, 5 km SW of Dali Reservoir, Artemisia steppe, semidesert, on Artemisia , 41°16’24”N, 45°48’44”E, 370 m, 10 May 2019, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); valley 3,2 km NW Dalis Reservoir Tower, Chachuna, 27 April 2018, S. Cherrug [phot., as Phelipanche mutelii , on Artemisia , https://www.cherrug.se/nature/Plantae%20-%20Plants%20-%20V%C3%A4xter/ Orobanchaceae %20%20 Snyltrotsv%C3%A4xter/ Phelipanche %20mutelii/index.html]; N of Udabno, SE slope of Kopatadze Lake, Artemisia steppe with halophytic vegetation, on Artemisia , 41°34.4’N, 45°19.17’E, 820 m, 15 May 2019, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); Dedoplistskaro NW, SE from Dalis Mta Reservoir, [on Artemisia ], 41°12’50.8”N, 45°58’54.6”E, [ca. 230 m], 25 May 2021, K. Mdinaradze (phot., https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/80243602); Kvemo Kartli prov.: Karajaskaja steppe (TGM50837) [as O. vulgaris ]; SW of Udabno, 12 km west of Davit Gareja monastery, steppe slopes, below cave complex, on Artemisia , 41°29’41”N, 45°17’32”E, 670 m, 7 May 2019, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); Garedji steppe, 17 June 1927, ??? (TBI); Georgia, small lake close to Kumisi S of Tbilisi, 500 m, on A. meyeriana [syn. A. fragrans ] ( Asteraceae ), 17 May 2001, G. Schneeweiss & A. Tribsch (WU0022606, WU0022607); Samtskhe-Javakheti prov.: Samtskhe-Javakheti, valley of river Kura (Mtkvari), near Akhaltsikhe, 43°17’35’’E, 41°22’47’’N, [41°22’47.0”N, 43°17’35.0”E], 1247 m, 16 July 2002, G. Schneeweiss et al. (WU0027654); between Rustavi and Idumala, steppe hills, roadsides, slopes of the river Mrkvari, on Artemisia , 41°35’36”N, 43°10’09”E, 1020 m, 3 June 2014, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); between Ahkaltsikhe and Benara, SW of Parekha vil., rocky steppe, 41°39’04.6”N, 42°52’12.6”E, 1030 m, 12 July 2015, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); Shida Kartli prov.: NE of Kaspi, Tetrathevi Monastery Road, Artemisia steppes, semi-deserts, pastures, roadsides, eroded hills and edges of steep valleys of dry rivers, 41°56’51”N, 44°22’38”E 41°57’27.8”N, 44°22’43.0”E, 540–590 m, 8 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); NW of Gomi, roadsides, Artemisia -steppes, pastures, agricultural areas, areas around railway tracks, numerous populations, 41°56’24.2”N, 44°22’18.8”E, 545 m, 8 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); Uplistsikhe Cave Town, W, N and E of Church of Prince, rocky slopes of the Mtkvari (Kura) river, 41°58’03.9”N, 44°12’31.4”E, 610 m, 8 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); E of Uplistsikhe Cave Town, near Cafe-Restaurant Gamardjoba, foot of rocky slopes in the valley of the Mtkvari River, roadsides, on Artemisia , 41°58’00.5”N, 44°12’48.7”E, 570 m, 8 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); between Metekhi and Gomi, Mtkvari (Kura) river valley, Artemisia -steppes, pastures, in the vicinity of arable fields and ruderal habitats, on Artemisia , 41°56’27.1”N, 44°22’09.4”E, 550 m, 8 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (phot.); between Igoeti and Gamdlistskaro, Artemisia -steppes on the slopes above Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze Hwy, on Artemisia , 41°59’56.1”N, 44°23’46.3”E, 690–700 m, 12 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC); Tbilisi prov.: Tbilisi, Tbilisi Sea, N part, steppe slopes above road, on Artemisia , 41°45’46.4”N, 44°50’31.9”E, 570 m, 7 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk (KTC).

Figures

FIGURE 22. Orobanche cumana. A. General habit with host Artemisia lerchiana. B–D. General habit. E–F. Flower, side view. G–H. Flower, front view. I–J. Representative habitats (I. Shida Kartli prov., Kaspi. J. Kvemo Kartli prov., SW of Udabno, near St John Baptist monastery). Photos by R. Piwowarczyk.

FIGURE 23. Distribution of Orobanche cumana in Georgia.