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

Piwowarczyk, Renata, Pedraja, Óscar Sánchez, Moral, Gonzalo Moreno, Fayvush, George, Zakaryan, Narine, Kartashyan, Nune & Aleksanyan, Alla, 2019, Holoparasitic Orobanchaceae (Cistanche, Diphelypaea, Orobanche, Phelipanche) in Armenia: distribution, habitats, host range and taxonomic problems, Phytotaxa 386 (1), pp. 1-106 : 53-54

4. Orobanche grenieri F.W. Schultz (1845: 739) . Type:— FRANCE (lectotype here designated): vignes de remdlon près Gap [Hautes-Alpes], juim 1844, leg. B. Blanc (P-04419157! [ex herb. Grenier]). Heterotypic synonyms:— O. virginis Gareiso (1847: 199) ; O. lactucae Arvet-Touvet (1871: 54) . Fig. 33C .

Notes: — The species was described by F. W. Schultz from de Gap, on the basis of a dry specimen sent to him by Grenier. We believe this specimen of the Grenier herbarium fits well into the Schultz species description and we chose it as a lectotype. In addition, here, we formally designate the lectotype of one of the cited synonyms, on materials collected by Schultz.

Orobanche virginis Gareiso (1847: 199) . Type :— FRANCE (lectotype here designated): Notre Dame du Gard, near Rochefort (MPU - Bernardin Martin! [James Molina, pers. comm., 5 Jan 2010]).

Distribution: —In central (Kotayk and Ararat provinces), south and southeastern parts (Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces) ( Fig. 36).

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

Habitat: —Abandoned fields, edges of fields, orchards, semideserts, roadsides, rocky, loamy slopes, dry hills, (1000)1200–1400(1700) m. The species prefers recently abandoned agricultural land, often unstable habitats, with not very compact soil and vegetation.

Hosts: —Parasitic exclusively on Lactuca sp. (mainly on L. viminea , L. takhtadzhianii Sosn. , L. quercina subsp. wilhemsiana , and perhaps also in L. serriola L. as in Krasnodar Krai) ( Asteraceae ).

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

Conservation status: —Least Concern (LC). The species has rather wide distribution in Armenia (4 floristic regions). Populations are very diverse, from a few to over 50 individuals (e.g. vicinity of Urtsadzor).

Notes: — Orobanche grenieri is closely related to O. cernua , however, there are diagnostic differences as they are, the former has a more gracile stem, inflorescence shorter than remaining stem, narrow bracts, longer and corolla with dorsal line geniculate in the proximal part and ± almost straight in the distal part and with large and broad lobes. The species have different hosts (in O. cernua mainly Artemisia sp. ) ( Carlón et al. 2005: 30, “key”). Furthermore, molecular results proved that O. grenieri is clearly dictinct from O. cernua and O. cumana ( Carlón et al. 2005, Piwowarczyk et al. 2015).

Specimens examined: — ARMENIA. Ararat prov.: N of Urtsadzor , abandoned field, 39°55’47”N, 44°48’30”E, 1066 m, 13 June 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( ERCB, KTC); NNW of Urtsadzor , apricot orchard, 39°55’34”N, 44°48’20”E, 1045 m, 13 June 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC); near road from Garni to Nubarashen , little pass ca. 1 km N of Azat Reservoir, 40°05’24”N, 44°37’10”E, ca. 1200 m, semi-desert, moving clay, open soil with very sparse vegetation cover, 10 June 2013, Gabrielyan et al. ( B, ERE) [Rätzel et al. 2017] ; Kotayk prov.: Arzakan, roadside near wheat fields, 27–28 June 1952, M . Sarkisyan ( ERE, ERCB) [as O. cumana by T. Tsaturyan]; Arzakan , 10 July 1956, M . Sarikisyan ( ERCB) [as O. cernua by T. Tsaturyan]; Arzakan , 25 June 1955, T . Tsaturyan ( ERE) [as O. cernua ]; Arzakan , 7 July 1956, M . Sarikisyan ( ERCB); Arzakan , 25 June 1963, E . Gevorkyan ( ERCB) [as O. cernua var. cumana by T. Tsaturyan]; Arzakan , 8 July 1956, B . Bramyan ( ERCB) [as O. cernua by T. Tsaturyan]; Arzakan , forest, 29 June 1956, B . Bramyan ( ERCB) [as O. cernua by T. Tsaturyan ] ; Syunik prov.: slope near the road to Shaki fall, between Shaki and Sisian, 1625 m, 30 May 2016, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC); NWW of Kavchut , the foot of a rocky slope near the road, 39°12’50”N, 46°14’24”E, 1326 m, 15 June 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC); between Geghavank and Kavchut , foot of a rocky slope, 39°12’58”N, 46°13’58”E, 1353 m, 15 June 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC) ; Vayots Dzor prov.: 3 km NE of Zedea , 39°42’17”N, 45°24’48”E, 1360 m, 31 May 2016, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC); SSW of Gndevaz , rocky slope, 39°42’45”N, 45°34’23”E, 1375 m, 22 June 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC) .

Figures

FIGURE 33. General habit of: A. Orobanche coerulescens, B. O. cernua, C. O. grenieri, D. O. lutea, E. O. caryophyllacea, F. O. zajaciorum. Photos by Renata Piwowarczyk.