Family:
Aeginetia Flower close up.
Orobanchaceae
Habit:
Seed
Description
Note: this description is primarily based on the morphology of three species.
Fruit a capsule with numerous seeds. Seeds elliptic, ovate, wedge-shaped or oblong; tiny, dustlike, 0.05-0.35 mm long, 0.03-0.26 mm wide and thick. Straw-colored to light brown. Surface reticulate, reticulations large, high-walled, with finer reticulations visible below. Embryo very small, endosperm present.
Economic importance
Weed and parasite in the wild.
Identification remarks:
Orobanchaceae species are closely related to those in the Scrophulariaceae. Compare Aeginetia with very small seeds of other parasitic plants on the federal noxious weed list:
Orobanche L. and Striga Lour.
A cluster of Aeginetia.
Distribution:
North and South America, Indian subcontinent, China, Japan, and Korea, through Southeast Asia to New Guinea.
Habitat
Low mountain slopes, grassy lowlands, wet, swampy ground, forests, roadsides.
General information
The genus Aeginetia comprises ca. three species. These plants are annual root parasites lacking chlorophyll, up to 50 cm tall. Aeginetia indica L. parasitizes bamboo roots, short grasses and crops such as rice, maize and sugarcane.This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state.
The seed of Aeginetia.
