| Class: | angiosperms |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Orobanchaceae |
| Genus: | Cistanche |
| Scientific name: | Cistanche deserticola Ma |
| Name acc. to: | Gubanov 1996, not in Grubov 1982/2001 |
| Herbar: | list records  |
| Synonym: | C. ambigua auct. fl. Mong., non Bunge (acc. to Gubanov 1996) |
| Synonym: | C. tubulosa auct. non (Schenk) Wight (acc. to Grubov et al. 2006: 12) |
| Description: | Herbs 0.4-1.6 m tall. Stems unbranched or 2-4-branched, 2-10 cm in diam. Leaves on lower part of stem ovate or triangular-ovate, 0.5-1.5 X 1-2 cm; leaves on upper part lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 2-4 cm X 5-10 mm, glabrous. Inflorescences spicate, 15-50 cm; bract subequalling corolla, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, along with bractlets and corolla sparsely pubescent abaxially; bractlets ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, subequalling calyx. Calyx campanulate, 1-1.5 cm; lobes 5, ca. 2.5 X 3-5 mm. Corolla pale yellow-white or pale purple, becoming brown when dry, tubular-campanulate, 3-4 cm, apex 5-lobed; lobes 4-6 X 6-10 mm. Filaments 1.5-2.5 cm, base villous; anthers long ovoid, 3.5-4.5 mm, densely villous, base mucronate. Ovary ellipsoid, ca. 1 cm. Style glabrous, usually persistent; stigma subglobose. Capsule ovoid-globose, 1.5-2.7 X 1.3-1.4 cm. Seeds ellipsoid or ovoid, 0.6-1 mm. (from Zhang & Tzvelev 1998: 230) |
| Comments: | Hosts: Chenopodiaceae, f. e. Haloxylon ammodendron (C. A. Mey.) Bunge |
| Link to Flora of China: | http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=2&name_str=Cistanche+deserticola |
| open map in a new window |  |
| Habitat: | Sandy places; 200-1200 m (Flora of China, Vol. 18, 1998). |
| Habit (i)general appearance of a plant | |
| Growth form: (i)Herb, shrub, tree or climber. | herb (i)Herbaceous, erect plant, up to 2m high, mostly with a leafy shoot; if perennial, shoots die to the ground each season, shoots are not woody
example: Artemisia pectinata   inherited by family Orobanchaceae: herb
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| Parasite status: (i)Is the plant a half- or full parasite? | Full parasite/ saprophyte (i)Full parasites without chlorophyll, entire plant lacking green color, often succulent
example: Cistanche inherited by genus Cistanche: Full parasite/ saprophyte
Parasite/saprophyte (i)Plant not or not fully autonomous, leaves often without chlorophyll
example: Cuscuta, Corallorhiza, Epipogium (holomycotrophic)c inherited by genus Cistanche: Parasite/saprophyte
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| Water or terrestrial plant: (i)Where do the plants grow? | terrestrial (i)Plant grows on dry land
example: Orostachys spinosa inherited by family Orobanchaceae: terrestrial
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| Leaf (i)expanded, usually photosynthetic organ of a plant (including phylloclades) | |
| Leaf development: (i)Structure and development of leaves. | with green leaves (i)Plant with green leaves inherited by family Orobanchaceae: with green leaves
without green leaves (i)Plant at flowering time (some geophytes) or over its whole life (many parasites) with reduced leaves without chlorophyll
example: Colchicum, Cuscuta, a lot of parasites inherited by family Orobanchaceae: without green leaves
needles or scales (i)Leaves short, broad more or less adjacent to axis (scales)) or acicular (needles)
example: Pinus (needles), Cupressus, Ephedra (scales)  inherited by family Orobanchaceae: needles or scales
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| Leaf veination: (i)Arrangement of the main veins of a leaf. | pinnate (i)One main vein, several side veins, sometimes inconspicuous
example: Cicerbita    inherited by family Orobanchaceae: pinnate
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| Flower (i)reproductive portion of the plant, consisting of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils | |
| Flower appearance and pollination: (i)General appearance of the flower. | attractive, animal-pollinated (i)attractive and coloured flowers, mostly large, attracting surely animals
example: Trollius, Rosa, Chamaerhodos inherited by family Orobanchaceae: attractive, animal-pollinated
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| Flower colour: (i)Attention: assess colour of the most colourful parts of the flower, but not of the stamens; be aware of single plants with a mutation (mostly white) on flower colour. | white (i)Most plants of the population white
example: Pleurospermum, Maianthemum
yellow to orange (i)Pale to golden yellow
example: Ranunculus, Crepis
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| Perianth arrangement: (i)Attention: in some plants, flowers may be dimorphic in different ways (dioecious or gynodioecious). If flowers vary, record the characters of the most showy flowers. | double, different (i)Two types of perianth leaves, differently coloured (sepals: outer periant leaves, usually greenish, and petals: inner perianth leaves, usually coloured)
example: Parnassia   inherited by family Orobanchaceae: double, different
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| Diameter of flower: (i)Diameter of flower or flower head. | from 20 mm to 40 mm (i)
example: Aquilegia
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| Flower symmetry: (i)Symmetry of the perianth leaves. Attention: to assess this character, look on sepals, petals and stamens, but neglect carpels and ovary. | zygomorphic (i)One axis of symmetry, monosymmetrical flowers
example: Pedicularis, Nepeta, Viola    inherited by family Orobanchaceae: zygomorphic
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| Flower form: (i)common forms of flowers ? Veronica | tubular to funnel-shaped (i)Petals form a tube, are often partially united to a cylindrical corolla, often surrounded by a calyx  inherited by genus Cistanche: tubular to funnel-shaped
campanulate (i)Petals united to a bell-shaped corolla  inherited by genus Cistanche: campanulate
bilabiate (i)Petals froming two lips, flower usually zygomorphic
example: Lamiaceae, Scrophulariaceae p.p.  inherited by family Orobanchaceae: bilabiate
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| Sepal number: (i)Number of sepal leaves (outer perianth leaves, calyx leaves, mostly greenish). Attention, this character applies only for flowers separated in sepals and petals, thus excluding most monocots. Be aware of the bracts (involucral leaves) of Asteraceae flowerheads, do not qualify these as sepals! Be also aware in Rosaceae is often an epicalyx developed, in this case count all parts. | 2 (i)
example: Papaveraceae inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 2
3 (i)
example: Baldellia, Alisma inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 3
4 (i)
example: Sinapis inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 4
5 (i)
example: Polemonium inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 5
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| Petal / Tepal number: (i)Number of petal leaves (inner perianth leaves, usually coloured). | 4 (i)
example: Galium inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 4
5 (i)
example: Potentilla inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 5
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| Petal / Tepal fusion: (i)To which degree are the petal leaves connected? Petals sympetalous. | fused (i)petal leaves united, only tips are free (gamopetalous, sympetalous)
example: Linnaea, Adenophora, Stellera inherited by family Orobanchaceae: fused
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| Stamen number: (i)Attention: We ask for the reproductive organs of the flower dispersing pollen. Count only fully fertile stamens, not staminodia (e.g. Parnassia). | 4 (i)Extremely rare, may be absent
example: Plantago inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 4
5 (i)
example: Peucedanum inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 5
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| Style number: (i)Portion of the pistil connecting the stigma to the ovary. | 1 inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 1
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| Stigma number per style: (i)Number of stigmas per style. | 1 (i)One stigma, sessile or with a developed style inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 1
2 (i)Two stigmas, resulting from two fused carpels with or without developed style  inherited by family Orobanchaceae: 2
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| Ovary position: (i)For entirely or partly fused carpels, describe their position in relation to the insertion point of perianth leaves (best done by doing a longitudinal section of a flower). | superior (hypogynous) (i)Base of carpels attached above insertion point of perianth leaves, carpels free or fused
example: Delphinium, Anemone   inherited by family Orobanchaceae: superior (hypogynous)
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| Sex: (i)Distribution of male and female organs among flowers, only most commonly cases. | bisexual, hermaphrodite (i)All or nearly all flowers of a plant with male and female parts
example: Haplophyllum, Chenopodium inherited by family Orobanchaceae: bisexual, hermaphrodite
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| Inflorescence (i)flowering part of a plant, describes the arrangement of the flowers on the flowering axis | |
| Inflorescence: (i)Structure of the inflorescence. | Flowers in inflorescence (i)No solitary flowers inherited by family Orobanchaceae: Flowers in inflorescence
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| Appearance: (i)Outer look of the inflorescence. | terminal (i)Inflorescence is the highest point of the plant and may consist of a single flower only
example: Cypripedium, Rhaponticum, Ligularia sibirica, Echinops inherited by family Orobanchaceae: terminal
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| Inflorescence type: (i)Types of inflorescence. Attention: We here ask for the botanical nomenclature of inflorescences, which is sufficiently complicated. Tick only, if you are certain, or tick all inflorescence types that appear similar of these of the plant in question. | spike (spadix) (i)All flowers sessile and crowded along a main axis, there may be several spikes on a shoot; sometimes axis thickened (spadix)
example: Plantago, Carex vesicaria, Vicia, Typha (spadix)   inherited by family Orobanchaceae: spike (spadix)
raceme (i)Stalked flowers arranged along a simple main axis, often one by one in the axils of leaves, maturing from bottom upwards
example: Aconitum barbatum  inherited by family Orobanchaceae: raceme
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| Fruit (i)the seed bearing organ, with or without adnate parts; a ripened ovary and any other structures which are attached and ripen with it. Aggregate fruits are handled like simple fruits for determination. | |
| Consistency: (i)Fleshy fruits or dry fruits, see dispersal adaptations for further classification. | dry (i)With a dry outer shell, no fleshy parts, but seed (embryo) could be edible inherited by family Orobanchaceae: dry
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| Type of fruit: (i)Common fruit types (including pseudocarp). | Solitary fruits (i)    inherited by family Orobanchaceae: Solitary fruits
capsule (i)Dry dehiscent fruit, releasing seeds by slits or holes.
example: Poppy, most Caryophyllaceae, Cerastium, a lot of Scrophulariaceae, Iris (oppened capsule looks like Delphinium), Zygophyllum - it is a very common fruit type    inherited by family Orobanchaceae: capsule
Dehiscent fruits (i)Fruits open along a longitudinale line (except silicula) inherited by family Orobanchaceae: Dehiscent fruits
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| Root / shoot below ground (i)plant part below ground (in most cases), including below ground shoots, without leaves | |
| Root type: (i)Organisation of the roots. | allorhizous (i)Plant with a conspicuous tap root, one larger tap root with side roots
example: Dicotyledonae inherited by order Lamiales: allorhizous
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| Distribution (i)region where the plant is likely to be found | |
| Distribution (Veg. Zones): (i)acc. to Grubov 1952 | Mongolian Altai (i)In distribution data often named as '7' 
Depression of Great Lakes (i)In distribution data often named as '10' 
Valley of Lakes (i)In distribution data often named as '11' 
East Gobi (i)In distribution data often named as '12' 
Transaltai Gobi (i)In distribution data often named as '15' 
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| Phenology (i)flowering and fruting period | |
| Flowering Period: (i)Period of the year the plant is flowering | May
June
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| Fruiting Period: (i)Period of the year the plant is fruiting | June
July
August
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| Plant Status | |
| Red list status: (i)Rare Mongolian plants | very rare (Shiirevdamba 2007) (i)Very rare plant
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