Host range and specificity of Orobanche minor Srn. on

113 A survey of hosts reported for the broom rape Orobanche minor Srn. (Orobanchaceae) in Britain and Ireland, indicates a very wide range for this species with most hosts recorded from the Leguminosae and the Compositae. Results from an investigation of the host range of a large coastal population of O. minor Srn. var. minor (sensu Rumsey & Jury) on Crymlyn Burrows, West Glamorgan, confirm 15 host species by observation of direct root contact between host and parasite. Some individual broom rapes were noted to parasitise more than one (up to three) host, each a different species. Seeds of O. minor var. minor taken from plants parasitising Eryngium maritimum germinated to produce plants that were able to parasitise Hypochoeris radicata, Trifolium hybridum and T. pralense