An account of the genus Cistanche (Orobanchaceae) in Iraq and taxonomic considerations in the Middle East.

Publisher: Pensoft Country of Publication: Bulgaria NLM ID: 101548554 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 1314-2011 (Print) Linking ISSN: 13142003 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PhytoKeys Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE

Original Publication: Sofia, Bulgaria : Pensoft, 2010-

Species limits in the genus Cistanche are poorly understood, despite the plants' long history of use in traditional herbal medicine and food across their range. Here we present a taxonomic account for the genus Cistanche in Iraq, where several taxa have been reported, most of them doubtfully. Using herbarium specimens, images of living material, and taxonomic literature, we found evidence of only one species occurring with certainty in Iraq: Cistanchetubulosa . We found no evidence for the occurrence of other Cistanche species in Iraq, including a putative new entity reported for the region. Our work highlights inconsistencies in the literature, and underscores the importance of examining multiple stable characters for delimiting species in the genus Cistanche .
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Majed Aldughayman, Chris J. Thorogood, Abdulridha A. A. Al-Mayah, Julie A. Hawkins.)

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2020 Oct;151:106898. (PMID: 32585287)

Keywords: Nomenclature; parasitic plant; speciation; taxonomy

Date Created: 20240308 Latest Revision: 20240309

20240309

PMC10918587

10.3897/phytokeys.238.116470

38456167