Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke

 
  • Family : SCROPHULARIACEAE
    (Figwort Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : BRAHMI FAMILY (ब्राह्मी फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Orobanchaceae
  • Basionym : Buchnera gesnerioides Willd.
  • Synonym(s) : Striga orobanchoides (R.Br. ex Endl.)
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke
  • Common name : Purple witch
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Scrub, Deciduous forests, Wet forests
  • Comments / notes : Grows on plains in loose soil and on rocks, often associated with Lepidagathes spp.; more robust after rains.
  • Key identification features : Root Parasite; Robust, solitary, unbranched or rarely 1 branched stems, lanceolate leaves, densely covered with strigose hairs throughout and bi-lobed upper corolla lobes.
  • Flower, Fruit : August-January
  • Collector(s) Name : Raja K. Swamy
  • Collection Date : 01/02/2016
  • Collection Nos : HJCB-E-292
  • Collection Locality : Mabbuchintalapalle, Kadapa district (AP)
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Kurnool district, Guntur district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district
    • Kerala : Kasaragod district, Kozhikode district, Malappuram district, Idukki district, Kottayam district
    • Maharashtra : Akola district, Ahmednagar district
    • Tamil Nadu : Salem district, Dharmapuri district, Dindigul district, Kanyakumari district
    • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Native : Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
    • J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2
    • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • Solomon Jeeva, T.S. Shynin Brintha and L. Rasingam (2012). Striga scottiana (Scrophulariaceae) – a new species from southern Western Ghats of Tamilnadu, India. Journal of Basic and Applied Biology, Vol. 6, No.3&4, pp. 79-82
    • N.P. Singh, P. Lakshminarasimhan, S. Karthikeyan & P. V. Prasanna (2001). Flora of Maharashtra state, Dicotyledones. Vol. 2. Botanical survey of India, Govt. India.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Striga gesnerioides
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Striga gesnerioides. Downloaded on 30 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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