Purple witchweed
Striga hermonthica
''Striga hermonthica'', commonly known as purple witchweed or giant witchweed, is a hemiparasitic plant that belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. It is devastating to major crops such as sorghum and rice . In sub-Saharan Africa, apart from sorghum and rice, it also infests maize , pearl millet , and sugar cane .
''Striga hermonthica'' has undergone horizontal gene transfer from ''Sorghum'' to its nuclear genome. The ''S. hermonthica'' gene, ''ShContig9483'', is most like a ''Sorghum bicolor'' gene, and additionally shows significant but lesser similarity to a gene from ''Oryza sativa''. It shows no similarity to any known eudicot gene.
''Striga hermonthica'' has undergone horizontal gene transfer from ''Sorghum'' to its nuclear genome. The ''S. hermonthica'' gene, ''ShContig9483'', is most like a ''Sorghum bicolor'' gene, and additionally shows significant but lesser similarity to a gene from ''Oryza sativa''. It shows no similarity to any known eudicot gene.