Dendrophthoe Mart.

Scientific Description

Family Loranthaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Shrubs; evergreen. Plants rootless (in the normal sense); partially parasitic. On aerial parts of the host. Leaves cauline (ass.). Stem internodes solid (ass.). Stem growth conspicuously sympodial. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves alternate, or opposite (displaced); leathery, or membranous; petiolate (West Australian species); edgewise to the stem, or with ‘normal’ orientation; simple. Leaf blades entire; pinnately veined (penninerved). Leaves without stipules. Leaf blade margins entire. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Leaf anatomy. Extra-floral nectaries absent (ass.). Stem anatomy. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite. Unisexual flowers absent. Plants hermaphrodite. Entomophilous, or ornithophilous.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in racemes, or in spikes (rarely). The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences axillary; raceme sometimes reduced to 1 or 2 flowers. Flowers pedicellate; bracteate (1 under each flower, much shorter than the flowers); ebracteolate (ass.); regular to somewhat irregular. The floral asymmetry involving the perianth. Flowers cyclic; tetracyclic. Floral receptacle markedly hollowed. Free hypanthium present; adnate to the ovary. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 3–9; 2 -whorled, or 1 -whorled. Calyx present (KPCB), or vestigial (A); 1 -whorled; polysepalous, or gamosepalous; entire, or lobed; when not entire, blunt-lobed, or toothed (or irregularly split); open in bud; regular; persistent. Corolla present (AKPCB), or absent (B); 5; 1 -whorled; gamopetalous; valvate; tubular; unequal but not bilabiate, or bilabiate, or regular; yellow, or red. Androecial members definite in number. Androecium 5. Androecial members adnate (to the corolla); all equal (ass.); free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; all more or less similar in shape (ass.); isomerous with the perianth; alternisepalous (epipetalous). Anthers dorsifixed; non-versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; bilocular (K), or four locular (A); bisporangiate, or tetrasporangiate. Gynoecium 3 carpelled, or 4 carpelled. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious, or eu-syncarpous; inferior. Ovary unilocular; 1 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1. Ovules not differentiated; in the single cavity 1–20 (1 or several); sessile; ascending; non-arillate; not clearly differentiated from the placenta.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit fleshy (usually), or non-fleshy (rarely); indehiscent; a berry, or a drupe; 1 seeded. Seeds copiously endospermic. Endosperm oily. Seeds covered with viscous material; without a testa. Embryo well differentiated. Cotyledons 2, or 1.

Etymology. From the Greek for "tree" and "to corrupt, destroy"; refers to the parasitic nature of the plant.