Epifagus virginiana
(L.) Barton · speciesAt a glance
Sources9 archives
Databases and archives Epifagus virginiana's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility15 049 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI23 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics57 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Epifagus virginiana, commonly called beech drops (or beech-drops, or beechdrops), is an obligate parasitic plant which grows and subsists on the roots of American beech. It is a member of the family Orobanchaceae. The genus Epifagus is monotypic—containing only E. virginiana. The name Epifagus derives from Greek "epi" meaning "on" or "upon", and "Fagus" which is the genus name of beech.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Life cycle & reproduction3
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment6
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Epifagus virginiana has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Epifagus virginiana carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type15 049 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions90 of 132 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia, US | 248 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 224 |
| Bloomington, US | 69 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 65 |
| Québec, CA | 64 |
| University of New Hampshirelocation not on record | 59 |
| Burlington, US | 54 |
| Madison, US | 49 |
| Williamsburg, US | 49 |
| Acadia Universitylocation not on record | 43 |
| New Haven, US | 38 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 35 |
| Bangkok, TH | 34 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 30 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 29 |
| Toronto, CA | 28 |
| College Park, US | 28 |
| Green Bay, US | 27 |
| Allentown, US | 24 |
| Jackson, US | 24 |
| Bronx, US | 19 |
| Tuscaloosa, US | 19 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 18 |
| WTUlocation not on record | 18 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 16 |
| Saint Louis, US | 11 |
| GAlocation not on record | 11 |
| Philadelphia, US | 10 |
| Durham, US | 10 |
| Millersville, US | 10 |
| Montréal, CA | 10 |
| Clemson, US | 9 |
| Staten Island, US | 9 |
| US | 8 |
| Saint John, CA | 8 |
| Norfolk, US | 7 |
| BAYLUlocation not on record | 7 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 7 |
| Keene State Universitylocation not on record | 6 |
| Trois-Rivières, CA | 6 |
| Dekalb, US | 6 |
| Paris, FR | 6 |
| Fort Worth, US | 6 |
| Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record | 6 |
| University of Southern Mississippilocation not on record | 6 |
| Richmond, US | 5 |
| Morgantown, US | 5 |
| Mississippi State, US | 5 |
| Beijing, CN | 4 |
| Knoxville, US | 4 |
| Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record | 4 |
| Moscow, US | 4 |
| Dover, US | 4 |
| AUAlocation not on record | 4 |
| Columbia, US | 4 |
| James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studieslocation not on record | 4 |
| Davenport, US | 4 |
| Tempe, US | 4 |
| New Brunswick, US | 3 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 3 |
| Austin, US | 3 |
| Tennessee Technological Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| Ypsilanti, US | 3 |
| Tampa, US | 3 |
| DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record | 3 |
| Denver, US | 3 |
| Chicago, US | 3 |
| Hamilton, US | 3 |
| China Agricultural Universitylocation not on record | 3 |
| Johnson City, US | 3 |
| Hudson, US | 2 |
| St. Paul, US | 2 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Kew, GB | 2 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 2 |
| Fayetteville, US | 2 |
| Emporia, US | 2 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 2 |
| Logan, US | 2 |
| Baltimore, US | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembrokelocation not on record | 2 |
| Asheville, US | 2 |
| Appalachian State Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| Phoenix, US | 2 |
| Fullerton, US | 2 |
| Pullman, US | 2 |
| Fairfax, US | 2 |
| Cheney, US | 2 |
| University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Guelph, OAC Herbariumlocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record | 2 |
| Northridge, US | 2 |
| UnBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Tall Timbers Research Stationlocation not on record | 1 |
| Kingston, US | 1 |
| Barcelona, ES | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record | 1 |
| Due West, US | 1 |
| Lord Fairfax Community Collegelocation not on record | 1 |
| Istituto Agrario Castelnuovolocation not on record | 1 |
| Little Rock, US | 1 |
| Riverside, US | 1 |
| Mohonk Preservelocation not on record | 1 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 1 |
| Durango, US | 1 |
| Boise, US | 1 |
| Whitewater, US | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| MAlocation not on record | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 1 |
| Auckland, NZ | 1 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 1 |
| Conway, US | 1 |
| Long Beach, US | 1 |
| Maryland Department of Natural Resourceslocation not on record | 1 |
| Flagstaff, US | 1 |
| Meguro Parasitological Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| San Angelo, US | 1 |
| Chadron, US | 1 |
| GB | 1 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 1 |
| Lubbock, US | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record | 1 |
| Provo, US | 1 |
| Oswego, US | 1 |
| EL PASO, US | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| University of South Carolina Salkehatchielocation not on record | 1 |
| McGill University, Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Montréal, CA | 1 |
Where the DNA of Epifagus virginiana was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.