Throughout evolution, a wide number of organisms specialized in parasitizing plants. Plants are not exceptions; certain plant species evolved as parasites of their own kind. Parasitic angiosperms evolved at least 12 times and show various lifestyles. For example, facultative parasitic plants can complete their life cycle and produce seeds without hosts, whereas obligate parasitic plants totally...

We report on the occurrence of Orobanche krylowii in the Alpet Shqiptare (Prokletije, Albanian Alps) mountain range in northern Albania (Balkan Peninsula). The species was previously known only from eastern-most Europe (Volga-Kama River in Russia), more than 2500 km away, and from adjacent Siberia and Central Asia. We used morphological evidence as well as nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences to sho...

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY DNA barcoding has been proposed as a useful technique within many disciplines (e.g., conservation biology and forensics) for determining the taxonomic identity of a sample based on nucleotide similarity to samples of known taxonomy. Application of DNA barcoding to plants has primarily focused on evaluating the success of candidate barcodes across a broad spect...

Bellardia trixago (L.) All. (syn. Bartsia L.) is a hemiparasitic plant that mainly native to the Mediterranean area. Formerly, genus was considered be part of Scrophulariaceae family, but it currently classified as belonging family Orobanchaceae. species are used in traditional medicine by local people cure backache, menstrual problems and an antipyretic against human immunodeficiency virus. Va...

Floral herbivory may have deleterious effects on the reproductive success of flowering plants. However, plants may evolve floral traits that allow them to defend against herbivory in particular conditions. A bumblebee-pollinated subalpine herb, Pedicularis rex (Orobanchaceae), endemic to southwest China, has cup-like bracts that fill with rainwater, which submerges its corolla tubes. We hypothe...