View source for Comandra

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the mistletoe family Santalaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Comandra umbellata.jpg
|status = G5
|status_system = TNC
|genus = Comandra
|parent_authority = [[Thomas Nuttall|Nutt.]]
|species = umbellata
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) Nutt.
|synonyms =
* ''Comandra richardsiana'' <small>Fern.</small>
* ''Thesium umbellatum'' <small>L.</small>
* ''Comandra umbellata subsp. elegans'' (Rochel ex Rchb.) Piehl
* ''Comandra elegans'' (Rochel ex Rchb.) Rchb. f, 1849<ref>Reichenbach, Heinrich Gustav, Icones florae germanicae et helveticae 11: 11. 1849.</ref><ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/100314331 ''Comandra elegans''] at [[Tropicos]]</ref>
* ''Comandra pallida'' <small>A. DC.</small>
}}
'''''Comandra''''' is a [[monotypic taxon|monotypic genus]]<ref name=der>{{cite journal | last1 = Der | first1 = J. P. | last2 = Nickrent | first2 = D. L. | year = 2008 | title = A molecular phylogeny of Santalaceae (Santalales) | url = http://www.plantbiology.siu.edu/faculty/nickrent/NickrentPDFs/Der%26Nickrent2008.pdf | journal = Systematic Botany | volume = 33 | issue = 1| pages = 107–16 | doi=10.1600/036364408783887438| s2cid = 85999681 }}</ref> containing the single [[species]] '''''Comandra umbellata'''''. Its common names include '''bastard toadflax''', '''umbellate bastard toadflax''', and '''common comandra'''.<ref>[http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=comandra+umbellata ''Comandra umbellata''.] NatureServe. 2012.</ref> The plant has a [[disjunct distribution]];<ref name=der/> its four subspecies occur in [[North America]] and the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]].<ref>{{cite book | first=D. J. | last=Mabberley | title=The Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants | year=2000 | publisher= Cambridge University Press | location=New York}}</ref>
==Description==
''Comandra'' is a perennial herb growing from [[rhizome]]s, often in drier or semi-sandy soils,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Ronald J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25708726|title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary|publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co|year=1994|isbn=0-87842-280-3|edition=rev.|location=Missoula, MT|pages=128|language=en|oclc=25708726|orig-year=1992}}</ref> to about {{Convert|8 to 34|cm|frac=4}} tall. The leaves are up to 3.3&nbsp;cm long and are alternately arranged. Growing in flat or roundish clusters, the flowers lack petals, but have five greenish-white [[sepal]]s.<ref name=":0" /> The flowers contain both male and female structures, and are insect-pollinated. The fruit is a [[drupe]] 4–6&nbsp;mm thick.<ref name=arches>[http://www.nps.gov/arch/naturescience/santalaceae_comandra_umbellata.htm ''Comandra umbellata''.] Arches National Park, Utah. United States National Park Service.</ref><ref name="popa" />
Subspecies include:<ref>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=501614 ''Comandra umbellata''.] Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).</ref>
*''Comandra umbellata'' subsp. ''californica'' &ndash; California bastard toadflax
*''Comandra umbellata'' subsp. ''pallida'' &ndash; pale bastard toadflax, pine bastard toadflax
*''Comandra umbellata'' subsp. ''umbellata''
''Comandra umbellata'' is [[Parasitic plant|hemiparasitic]]; it is not holoparasitic as it obtains some nutrition through [[photosynthesis]].<ref name=moss>{{cite journal | first= E. H. | last= Moss | year=1926 | title= Parasitism in the genus ''Comandra'' | journal=New Phytologist | volume=25 |pages=264–276 | doi= 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1926.tb06695.x | issue= 4 | jstor= 2428127 | doi-access= free }}</ref> It has a wide host range, parasitizing over 200 known plant species.<ref name=arches/> These include: ''[[maple|Acer]]'', ''[[Antennaria]]'', ''[[Aster (genus)|Aster]]'', ''[[Betula]]'', ''[[Carex]]'', ''[[Solidago]]'', ''[[Fragaria]]'', ''[[Populus]]'', ''[[Oak|Quercus]]'', ''[[Rose|Rosa]]'', ''[[Rubus]]'', ''[[Vaccinium]]''  and some [[grass]]es.<ref name=moss/><ref name="popa">{{cite book|last1=Rhoads|first1=Ann|last2=Block|first2=Timothy|title=The Plants of Pennsylvania|publisher=University of Pennsylvania press|location=Philadelphia Pa|isbn=978-0-8122-4003-0|edition=2nd|date=2007-08-08}}</ref>
In Europe the common English name '''bastard toadflax''' is used for plants of the genus ''[[Thesium]]''.
==Pathogens==
''Comandra umbellata'' is the alternate host for the comandra blister rust (''[[Cronartium comandrae]]''), a [[rust (fungus)|rust fungus]] that affects [[pine]] species in North America. Comandra blister rust can cause tree losses of up to 7% in some regions where it is common.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Woods |first=A. J. |display-authors=etal |year=2000 |title=Predicted impacts of hard pine stem rusts on lodgepole pine dominated stands in central British Columbia |journal=Canadian Journal of Forest Research |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=476–481 |doi=10.1139/cjfr-30-3-476}}</ref>
When ''C. umbellata'' is infected by the rust [[aeciospore]]s from the pine host, yellow, blister-like spots bearing [[urediniospore]]s appear on the leaves of the plant within 20 days. In the following weeks, teliospores develop on brown, hairlike telia that germinate to produce basidiospores, the fungal life stage capable of infecting pines.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=D. W. |year=1986 |title=Comandra Blister Rust |url=http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/comandra/comandrafidl.htm |journal=Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet |volume=62}}</ref>
==Uses==
A decoction of the plant parts was made by the [[Navajo people]] for narcotic and other medicinal usage. In times of food shortage, the berries were used by Native Americans as a food source,<ref>{{cite book|title=Wild Berries of the West|year=2001|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company|location=Missoula, Montana|isbn=978-0-87842-433-7|pages=159|author=Betty B. Derig|author2=Margaret C. Fuller|name-list-style=amp}}<!--|accessdate=3 December 2013--></ref> and though small, they have a sweet taste.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata)|url=http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/comaumbe.htm|work=Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands|publisher=Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center|access-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> The fruit may contain toxic [[selenium]] if grown in soil rich in the element.<ref name=":0" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q5150546|from2=Q15380252}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Santalaceae]]
[[Category:Monotypic Santalales genera]]
[[Category:Parasitic plants]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Northern America]]