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

Aldughayman, M., Thorogood, C., Abdulridha, A. A. A.-M. and Hawkins, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9048-8016 (2024) An account of the genus Cistanche (Orobanchaceae) in Iraq and taxonomic considerations in the Middle East. PhytoKeys, 238. pp. 281-294. ISSN 1314–2003 doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.238.116470

Abstract/Summary

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: Cistanche tubulosa. 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.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114986
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Publisher	Pensoft
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item