How to Grow and Care for Witchweeds

Asiatic witchweed is considered an invasive pest to crops in places like Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. It is parasitic, and the young plants are hidden entirely underground where they attach themselves to the roots of sugarcane, sorghum, corn, and rice plants. Asiatic witchweed variants from different regions can sometimes be identified by the color of their flowers.

Striga elegans boasts slender stems and vibrant blossoms, often found piercing through arid soils. Its distinct, tubular flowers range from deep violet to blue, hinting at its parasitic nature as they siphon nutrients from neighboring flora. The elegant, lance-shaped leaves of striga elegans serve as a visual marker of this stealthy garden dweller.

Cowpea witchweed is an invasive species that is entirely parasitic for a wide range of other plants, including cowpea and tobacco. This plant is particularly fast-spreading because it produces an enormous number of seeds, over sixty thousand per plant. Often the plant can't be easily observed on the host plant and is only revealed by poor growth and weathered foliage.

Striga bilabiata is a striking hemiparasitic herbaceous plant with a distinctive pair of lipped flowers, often purplish in hue, reflecting its adaptation to attract specific pollinators. Its slender stem and strategic parasitism allow it to extract water and nutrients from host plants, thriving in nutrient-poor soils where other species may falter.