Lindenbergia philippensis was of uncertain placement in Scrophulariaceae.  I collected this plant, shown here in its only known natural habitat, old temple walls in Thailand and neighboring SE Asia.  The floral morphology was consistent with placement in Rhinanthoideae, the subfamily of all hemiparasitic and parasitic plants.  Molecular data subsequently confirmed that Lindenbergia was the autotrophic sister group, the basal lineage of the clade now identified as Orobanchaceae.

Presently a Thai doctoral student is working on the systematics of this genus.  Does this genus have preadaptations for being parasitic?  The seeds are tiny, one character previously thought to be derived and associated with parasitism in this clade.

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