Witchweed

Scientific Name

Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze (ITIS)

Common Name

Witchweed, Asiatic witchweed, red witchweed

Synonym

Striga lutea Lour. (ITIS)

Native To

Africa (Tasker and Westwood 2012)

Date of U.S. Introduction

First identified in North Carolina in 1956 (Tasker and Westwood 2012)

Means of Introduction

Accidental (Spallek et al. 2013)

Impact

Parasitic plant that attacks agricultural crops, including corn, sorghum, sugar cane, and rice (Nail et al. 2014)

Current U.S. Distribution

North Carolina, South Carolina

Witchweed, parasitic plants

Credit

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Source

Invasive.org.

Find more images

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) - Witchweed
- University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
- Provides state, county, point and GIS data. Maps can be downloaded and shared.

Federally Regulated

Domestic Quarantine Notices (Title 7: Agriculture, Part 301) - Witchweed
- U.S. Government Printing Office. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
Noxious Weeds Program
- USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.
- Includes species listed as a Federal Noxious Weed under the Plant Protection Act, which makes it illegal in the U.S. to import or transport between States without a permit.

Videos

YouTube - How to Identify Red Witchweed
- Google. YouTube; Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Australia). Biosecurity Queensland.

All Resources

View and Filter All Witchweed Resources

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Partnership

Fact Sheet - Witchweed [PDF, 889 KB]
- Plant Health Australia.
- See also: Grains - Fact Sheets for more resources
Federal Noxious Weed Disseminules of the U.S. - Fact Sheet: Striga spp.
- USDA. APHIS. PPQ. Center for Plant Health Science and Technology; California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Global Invasive Species Database - Striga asiatica (herb)
- IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States - Witchweed
- University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Invasive Species Compendium - Striga asiatica
- CAB International.
Keys and Fact Sheets: Striga asiatica (Red Witchweed)
- East African Network for Taxonomy.
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) - Striga asiatica
- USDA. FS. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.
Plantwise Technical Factsheet - Witch Weed (Striga asiatica)
- CABI. PlantwisePlus Knowledge Bank.
Weeds Australia - Witchweeds (Striga Lour.)
- Centre for Invasive Species Solutions; Atlas of Living Australia; Australian Government. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Federal Government

Witchweed Eradication Program in North and South Carolina [PDF, 1.6 MB]
- Apr 2020
- USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.
- See also: Environmental Assessments - Noxious Weeds for more resources
PLANTS Database - Asiatic Witchweed
- USDA. NRCS. National Plant Data Center.
U.S. National Plant Germplasm System - Striga asiatica
- USDA. ARS. National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN-Global.

International Government

NSW WeedWise: Witchweed
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (Australia).
Current Responses to Outbreaks - Red Witchweed
- Australian Government. Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. National Pest and Disease Outbreaks.
Invasive Plants: Prohibited Invasive Plants - Witchweed
- Business Queensland (Australia).

State and Local Government

Encycloweedia: Data Sheet - Witchweed
- California Department of Food and Agriculture.
- See also: Included on California's noxious weed list; see Encycloweedia: Program Details for additional resources

Academic

You Ain't From Around Here! Exotic Invasive of the Quarter: Witchweed [PDF, 205 KB]
- 2011
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program.
- See also: Publications - Exotic Invasives for more fact sheets
State Plant Pest Information: Witchweed
- Clemson University. Regulatory Services.

Citations

Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Striga asiatica. [Accessed Sep 30, 2023].
Nail, K., D.J. Kriticos, J.K. Scott, et al. 2014. Striga asiatica (Witchweed). In: HarvestChoice Pest Geography. St. Paul, MN: InSTePP-HarvestChoice.
Spallek, T., J.M. Mutuku, and K. Shirasu. 2013. The genus Striga: A witch profile. Molecular Plant Pathology 14(9):861-869.
Tasker, A.V., and J.H. Westwood. 2012. The U.S. witchweed eradication effort turns 50: A retrospective and look-ahead on parasitic weed management. Weed Science 60(2): 267-268.

Find more images

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) - Witchweed

Federally Regulated

Domestic Quarantine Notices (Title 7: Agriculture, Part 301) - Witchweed

Noxious Weeds Program

Videos

YouTube - How to Identify Red Witchweed

All Resources

Selected Resources

Fact Sheet - Witchweed [PDF, 889 KB]

Federal Noxious Weed Disseminules of the U.S. - Fact Sheet: Striga spp.

Global Invasive Species Database - Striga asiatica (herb)

Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States - Witchweed

Invasive Species Compendium - Striga asiatica

Keys and Fact Sheets: Striga asiatica (Red Witchweed)

Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) - Striga asiatica

Plantwise Technical Factsheet - Witch Weed (Striga asiatica)

Weeds Australia - Witchweeds (Striga Lour.)

Witchweed Eradication Program in North and South Carolina [PDF, 1.6 MB]

PLANTS Database - Asiatic Witchweed

U.S. National Plant Germplasm System - Striga asiatica

NSW WeedWise: Witchweed

Current Responses to Outbreaks - Red Witchweed

Invasive Plants: Prohibited Invasive Plants - Witchweed

Encycloweedia: Data Sheet - Witchweed

You Ain't From Around Here! Exotic Invasive of the Quarter: Witchweed [PDF, 205 KB]

State Plant Pest Information: Witchweed