id please for parasite
Hi folks,
A few years ago I found this plant near Ibadan, Nigeria, apparently parasitic (since only non-chlorophyllous parts seem to come above the soil surface). It was in a mixed orchard of Theobroma cacao and Cola nitida, so I presume it was parasitizing the roots of one or the other, although there were plenty of weed species present as well, and I guess it could have been attacking one of them. Any ideas about its identity would be appreciated. Malcolm Manners Florida Southern College http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite1.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite2.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite3.jpg |
"Malcolm Manners" wrote in
message news:tgk0f.100$%W3.71@trnddc08... Hi folks, A few years ago I found this plant near Ibadan, Nigeria, apparently parasitic (since only non-chlorophyllous parts seem to come above the soil surface). It was in a mixed orchard of Theobroma cacao and Cola nitida, so I presume it was parasitizing the roots of one or the other, although there were plenty of weed species present as well, and I guess it could have been attacking one of them. Any ideas about its identity would be appreciated. Malcolm Manners Florida Southern College http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite1.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite2.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite3.jpg Try _Thonningia sanguinea_, a member of the parasitic flowering plant family Balanophoraceae: http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...ch&sa=N&tab=wi http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/Balanophoraceae/ http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/B...gia.sang1.JPEG http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/B...honningia4.jpg cheers |
mel turner wrote:
"Malcolm Manners" wrote in message news:tgk0f.100$%W3.71@trnddc08... Hi folks, A few years ago I found this plant near Ibadan, Nigeria, apparently parasitic (since only non-chlorophyllous parts seem to come above the soil surface). It was in a mixed orchard of Theobroma cacao and Cola nitida, so I presume it was parasitizing the roots of one or the other, although there were plenty of weed species present as well, and I guess it could have been attacking one of them. Any ideas about its identity would be appreciated. Malcolm Manners Florida Southern College http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite1.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite2.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite3.jpg Try _Thonningia sanguinea_, a member of the parasitic flowering plant family Balanophoraceae: http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...ch&sa=N&tab=wi http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/Balanophoraceae/ http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/B...gia.sang1.JPEG http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/B...honningia4.jpg cheers Thanks Mel. That appears to be it. A family with which I'm not at all familiar. |
"Malcolm Manners" wrote in
message news:OIG0f.3961$C51.238@trnddc07... mel turner wrote: "Malcolm Manners" wrote in message news:tgk0f.100$%W3.71@trnddc08... Hi folks, A few years ago I found this plant near Ibadan, Nigeria, apparently parasitic (since only non-chlorophyllous parts seem to come above the soil surface). It was in a mixed orchard of Theobroma cacao and Cola nitida, so I presume it was parasitizing the roots of one or the other, although there were plenty of weed species present as well, and I guess it could have been attacking one of them. Any ideas about its identity would be appreciated. Malcolm Manners Florida Southern College http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite1.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite2.jpg http://members.aol.com/mmmavocado/parasite3.jpg Try _Thonningia sanguinea_, a member of the parasitic flowering plant family Balanophoraceae: http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...ch&sa=N&tab=wi http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/Balanophoraceae/ http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/B...gia.sang1.JPEG http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/B...honningia4.jpg Thanks Mel. That appears to be it. A family with which I'm not at all familiar. Probably relatively few botanists are very familiar with this family. They are definitely among the oddest parasitic angiosperm families; many members superficially seem more reminiscent of fungi than of vascular plants. At least _Thonningia_ has those showy red bracts, so its inflorescences appear more flowerlike than fungoid. Some nice photos of Thonningia, by the way! cheers |
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