Category: Members

I am pleased to share our newly published research article in Weed Research: Influence of Chlorsulfuron and Funneliformis mosseae, an Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus on Striga hermonthica Incidence and Sorghum Growth Authors: Suha H. A. Elhag, Magdam E. Abdelgani, Namia E. Gorashi, Yabets G. Ebren, and Abdel A. G. T. Babiker. The study investigates the effects […]

Trees are hosts to a number of parasitic plant species. Two broad categories can be distinguished, based on where they attack the host: root and stem parasites. The main root parasite affecting trees and tree crops in Africa is Thonningia sanguinea. It is widely distributed across the region and is known to parasitize on coffee, […]

In this study we studied 22 maize genotypes, with a diversity of origins, across field locations in Kenya (one season) and Malawi (two seasons), and in the greenhouse in Wageningen. We identified new maize genotypes with effective broad-spectrum resistance against the parasitic weed Striga, a prevalent biological constraint to crop production on the African continent. […]

Mistletoes depend on animals to pollinate their flowers and disperse their seeds, which makes them a great system to ask how pollinators shape floral evolution. We compared the flowers of four mistletoes from southern South America (Tristerix aphyllus, T. corymbosus, T. verticillatus, and Desmaria mutabilis), whose lineages split at three different moments, from the Eocene […]

Mistletoe seeds need to be delivered to suitable branches to germinate, so seed dispersers are essential for these parasitic plants. In central Chile, the Chilean mockingbird (Mimus thenca) has long been considered the main disperser of Tristerix corymbosus. But in Curauma, an urban area near Valparaíso where invasive Acacia trees now dominate, we found something […]

In the city of Valparaíso, central Chile, we studied how the native mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus performs on native and introduced host trees. Mistletoes are parasitic plants that take water and nutrients from their hosts, and in urban areas they are often found on fast-growing introduced trees such as Acacia. We found that introduced hosts had […]

Orobanche cumana (Orobanchaceae), commonly known as broomrape, is an obligate root holoparasitic plant that infests sunflower (Helianthus annuus), causing substantial yield losses in many regions of Europe and Asia. Its seed germination is triggered by chemical signals exuded by sunflower roots, including strigolactones (SLs) and sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) such as dehydrocostus lactone (DCL). In non-parasitic […]

Striga hermonthica is a destructive parasitic weed that threatens cereal production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. One promising control method is “Suicidal Germination” which forces Striga seeds to germinate in host’s absence, reducing the soil seed bank. As the efficiency of strigolactones (SLs) is often limited by seed dormancy, we tested whether the ethylene […]

I am beyond thrilled to share with you this exciting news/paper hot off the press: our efforts to propagate Rafflesia, the charismatic, critically endangered “panda of the plant world” and the largest flower on Earth, have finally paid off! Molina, J. et al. (2026) “Growing a plant you cannot see: ex situ propagation of the endoparasite […]

Plants interact ubiquitously with organisms surrounding them through chemical communication, for example through the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by flowers, to attract pollinators. To attain specificity in this relationship, plants may evolve different VOCs for different pollinators. In the present study we investigated the flower VOCs of the root parasitic butterbur broomrape (Orobanche […]