Overview
Balanophoraceae (from the inflorescence which appears to be covered by barnacles) is a subtropical to tropical family of obligate parasitic flowering plants, notable for their unusual development and obscure affinities. The family consist of 17 genera and approximately 50 species. The plants are normally found in moist inland forests growing on tree roots and have an aboveground inflorescence with the overall appearance of a fungus, composed of numerous minute flowers. The inflorescences develop inside the tuberous underground part of the plant, before rupturing it and surfacing. The plants are monoecious, or dioecious, and the fruits are indehiscent drupes or nuts. The underground portion, which attaches itself to the host, looks like a tuber, and is not a proper root system. The plants contain no chlorophyll. Balanophora means bearing an acorn (shape of the femal inflorescence).
The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998), also recognizes this family but leaves it unplaced, as to order and higher grouping. The AP-Website indicates that the family should be included in the order Santalales (post APG II), where it was also placed by the Cronquist system (1981).
The species is a parasite on tree roots and can be found in montane forest such as that of the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park in the Indonesian province of West Java.1]
Genera
- Balanophora
- Chlamydophytum
- Corynaea
- Dactylanthus
- Ditepalanthus
- Exorhopala
- Hachettea
- Helosis
- Langsdorffia
- Lophophytum Schott & Endl.
- Mystropetalon
- Ombrophytum Poepp. ex Endl.
- Rhopalocnemis
- Sarcophyte
- Scybalium
- Thonningia
Balanophora fungosa
Male stems
Female stems
The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998), also recognizes this family but leaves it unplaced, as to order and higher grouping. The AP-Website indicates that the family should be included in the order Santalales (post APG II), where it was also placed by the Cronquist system (1981).
The species is a parasite on tree roots and can be found in montane forest such as that of the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park in the Indonesian province of West Java.1]
Genera
- Balanophora
- Chlamydophytum
- Corynaea
- Dactylanthus
- Ditepalanthus
- Exorhopala
- Hachettea
- Helosis
- Langsdorffia
- Lophophytum Schott & Endl.
- Mystropetalon
- Ombrophytum Poepp. ex Endl.
- Rhopalocnemis
- Sarcophyte
- Scybalium
- Thonningia
Balanophora fungosa
Male stems
Female stems
References
- ^ Whitten, Tony and Jane (1992). Wild Indonesia: The Wildlife and Scenery of the Indonesian Archipelago. United Kingdom: New Holland. p. 127. ISBN 1-85368-128-8.
External links
- Balanophoraceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 2 June 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- Balanophoraceae at Parasitic plants
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
Taxonomy
The Family Balanophoraceae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Genus (38): Acroblastum · Balaneikon · Balania · Balaniella · Balanophora · Bivolva · Blepharochlamys · Caldasia · Cephalophyton · Chlamydophytum · Corynaea · Cynopsole · Dactylanthus · Ditepalanthus · Exorhopala · Hachettea · Haematolepis · Helosis · Ichthyosma · Itoasia · Juelia · Langsdorffia · Lathrophytum · Lophophytum · Lytogomphus · Mystropetalon · Ombrophytum · Phaeocordylis · Phelypea · Phyllocoryne · Polyplethia · Rhopalocnemis · Sarcophyte · Scybalium · Senftenbergia · Sphaerorhizon · Thonningia · Thyrsine
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 283 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Family Balanophoraceae.
Genera
Acroblastum
Balaneikon
Balania
Balaniella
Balanophora
Plants monoecious or dioecious. Rhizome branched or unbranched, containing sticky wax (balanophorin), smooth or rugose with small scaly warts and/or stellate lenticels. Leaves opposite, alternate and distichous or spiral, or whorled, sessile, fleshy or scale-like. Inflorescences spadixlike, cylindric, ellipsoid, ovoid-globose, or globose, enlarged after anthesis. Male flowers: pedicellate or sessile, subtended by U-shaped or variously reduced bracts. Perianth 3-6-lobed; lobes ovate, lanceolate, or orbicular, concave, isomorphic or heteromorphic, valvate, reflexed at anthesis. Stamens in a hemispheric or ± elongated synandrium; anthers bilocular, usually as numerous as perianth lobes, straight or sometimes U-shaped with a bend near apex of synandrium, occasionally variously fused or interrupted into locelli, transversely or longitudinally dehiscent; pollen white, subconical or globose, smooth or bullate. Spadicles minute, subclavate to clavate, very numerous, congested on female inflorescence. Female flowers: composed of a pistil, congested on main axis or also on basal stipe of spadicles. Ovary ellipsoid to fusiform, 1-loculed, attenuate toward both ends; ovules anatropous, shortly stiped. Style elongated, persistent. Fruit exocarp crustaceous.[1] [more]
Bivolva
Blepharochlamys
Caldasia
Cephalophyton
Chlamydophytum
Corynaea
Cynopsole
Dactylanthus
The wood rose, Dactylanthus taylorii, is a fully parasitic plant that grows on the roots of certain trees in New Zealand. The host tree responds to the presence of Dactylanthus by forming a burl-like structure that resembles a fluted wooden rose (hence the common name). MÄori names for wood rose are pua o te reinga or pua reinga, "flower of the underworld" and waewae atua, "feet of gods". It is the only species in the Dactylanthus genus. One of its most common host trees is pate or seven-finger (Schefflera digitata). [more]
Ditepalanthus
Exorhopala
Hachettea
Haematolepis
Helosis
Ichthyosma
Itoasia
Juelia
Langsdorffia
Lathrophytum
Lophophytum
Lytogomphus
Mystropetalon
Ombrophytum
Phaeocordylis
Phelypea
Phyllocoryne
Polyplethia
Rhopalocnemis
Plants monoecious or dioecious. Rhizome thick, smooth or irregularly corrugate, containing abundant starch, with sheathlike extension surrounding base of scape. Leaves on male shoots scale-like but absent on female shoots. Scape robust. Inflorescences spadixlike, oblong-cylindric, covered by numerous scale-like bracts and flowers; scale-like bracts thick, multiangular peltate, complanate, margin adherent, caducous at anthesis. Male flowers: perianth tubular, apex irregularly dentate or 4-lobed. Stamens connate into a synandrium; anthers united into a head, with 20-30 locelli in 2 or 3 layers. Female flowers: perianth adnate to ovary, forming 2 low crests apically on ovary. Ovary ellipsoid, 1-loculed; ovules anatropous. Styles 2, elongated; stigmas capitate. Fruit narrowly oblong. Seeds globose.[2] [more]
Sarcophyte
Scybalium
Senftenbergia
Sphaerorhizon
Thonningia
Thyrsine
More info about the Genus Thyrsine may be found here.
References
- ^ Whitten, Tony and Jane (1992). Wild Indonesia: The Wildlife and Scenery of the Indonesian Archipelago. United Kingdom: New Holland. p. 127. ISBN 1-85368-128-8.
Footnotes
- Shumei Huang & Jin Murata "Balanophora". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 272. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
- "Rhopalocnemis". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 272. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
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