Striga gesnerioides(Willd.) Vatke

cowpea witchweed

WFO wfo-0000496020 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Striga gesnerioides, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. a Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2021-11-18 / obs. 169949696
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by S.MORE
fig. b S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 166385080
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. c Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 161488109
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. d Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 116806569
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. e Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 116392911
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by Matthew Fainman
fig. f Matthew Fainman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 110301493
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by S.MORE
fig. g S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 102280393
Striga gesnerioides, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. h Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 148733227

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 48 botanical countries

Regions where Striga gesnerioides is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicChadCongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMalawiMaliMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweOmanSaudi ArabiaYemenIndiaNepalPakistanSri Lanka Cape Verde
Native distribution of Striga gesnerioides, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
Oman OMA ASIA-TEMPERATE
Saudi Arabia SAU
Yemen YEM

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 16 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Buchnera gesnerioides Willd.
  • Buchnera hydrabadensis Roth
  • Buchnera orobanchoides R.Br.
  • Campuleia coerulea Bojer ex Benth.
  • Campuleia rosea Bojer ex Benth.
  • Chorobanche indica C.Presl
  • Harveya varia Hook. ex Steud.
  • Microsyphus parviflorus C.Presl
  • Orobanche indica Spreng.
  • Orobanche varia E.Mey. ex Steud.
  • Psammostachys varia C.Presl
  • Striga chloroleuca Dinter
  • Striga gesnerioides var. arondensis M.R.Almeida
  • Striga orchidea Hochst. ex Benth.
  • Striga orobanchoides (R.Br.) Benth.
  • Striga scottiana Jeeva, Shyn.Brintha & Rasingam

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.