Orobanche grenieri F.W. Schultz (1845: 739)

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 : 40

3. Orobanche grenieri F.W. Schultz (1845: 739)

. Type:— FRANCE (lectotype designated by Piwowarczyk et al. 2019: 53): vignes de remdlon près Gap [Hautes-Alpes], juim 1844, leg. B. Blanc (P04419157! [ex herb. Grenier]). Heterotypic synonyms:— O. virginis Gareiso (1847: 199) ; O. lactucae Arvet-Touvet (1871: 54) . Fig. 24 .

General distribution: —Southwestern Europe ( Spain, France, Italy), and recently also in Eastern Europe ( Russia and Crimea), western and central Asia (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgistan, Turkey) ( Carlón et al. 2005, Piwowarczyk et al. 2015, 2019, Rätzel et al. 2015, 2017, Sánchez Pedraja et al. 2016 +, Fateryga & Popovich 2017).

Distribution: —In the central part (Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samtskhe-Javakheti provinces) ( Fig. 25 ).

Habitat: —Roadsides, rocky, loamy slopes, dry hills, until now found at 500–900 m.

Hosts: —In Georgia, usually parasitic on Lactuca sp. , mainly on L. serriola L., L. viminea (L.) J. Presl & C. Presl (syn. Scariola viminea (L.) F. W. Schmidt), and occasionally Tragopogon graminifolius DC. (new host for this species) ( Asteraceae ).

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

Conservation status: —Endangered (EN) – B 1 ab (iii) + 2 ab (iii). EOO is less than 5000 km 2, severely fragmented existing at two provinces, AOO is less than 100 km 2, severely fragmented, existing at no more than 5 localities (3 known). Subpopulations are not numerous, usually few to rarely over 10 individuals. Localities are often located on steep slopes, at risk of landslides or excessive overgrowing.

Notes: — Orobanche grenieri is closely related to O. cernua and O. cumana , but molecular results proved that O. grenieri is clearly distinct from them. Furthermore, the species have different hosts (in O. cernua and O. cumana mainly Artemisia sp. ) ( Carlón et al. 2005: 30, “key”) and it shows some differential morphological characteristics, e.g., corolla with dorsal line geniculate in the proximal part and almost straight in the distal part and not evenly curved as is the case of the two other taxa ( Carlón et al. 2005, Piwowarczyk et al. 2015, 2019).

Specimens examined: — GEORGIA. Mtskheta-Mtianeti prov.: between Mtskheta and Karsani, slope near the road to Karsani , roadsides, on Tragopogon , 41°49.9’N, 44°42.8’E, 520 m, 5 May 2019, R. Piwowarczyk ( KTC) ; Samtskhe-Javakheti prov.: NE of Borjomi, Kortaneti , a rocky slope above an asphalt road, on Lactuca , 41°53’45”N, 43°26’55”E, 780–790 m, 31 May 2014. R. Piwowarczyk ( KTC) ; Likani SE, rocky overgrown slopes, on Lactuca , 41°49’43.3”N, 43°21’25.6”E, 830–840 m, 14 June 2022, R. Piwowarczyk ( KTC) .

Figures

FIGURE 24. Orobanche grenieri. A–D. General habit. E–H. Flower, side view. I–J. Flower, front view. K, N. Representative habitats (K. Samtskhe-Javakheti prov., Kortaneti. N. Mtskheta-Mtianeti prov., between Mtskheta and Karsani). L–M. Representative hosts (L. Lactuca serriola. M. Tragopogon graminifolius). Photos by R. Piwowarczyk.

FIGURE 25. Distribution of Orobanche grenieri in Georgia.