''Balanophora'' is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family

Balanophoraceae The Balanophoraceae are a subtropical to tropical family of obligate parasitic flowering plants, notable for their unusual development and formerly obscure affinities. In the broadest circumscription, the family consists of 16 genera. Alterna ...

distributed from tropical Africa and Madagascar, through

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, Japan,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the islands of the western Pacific. There are 25 accepted species. Many species emit an odour which possibly attracts pollinators in the same way that pollinators are attracted to ''

Rafflesia ''Rafflesia'' (), or stinking corpse lily, is a genus of Parasitic plants, parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. The species have enormous flowers, the buds rising from the ground or directly from the lower stems of their host p ...

''. ''Balanophora'' species are used in

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

in many Asian cultures. For example, in Taiwan and China, ''Balanophora'' is known as ''she-gu'' (snake-fungus) and in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

as ''hoh-ra-tao-su-nak''. In both cases, the plant is used to treat a variety of ailments and has various ritual purposes. The tubers of ''Balanophora'' are rich in a wax-like substance which is used in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

as a fuel for torches.

Taxonomy

The genus was first described in 1775 by

Johann Reinhold Forster Johann Reinhold Forster (; 22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Tczew, Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Po ...

and his son

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

in ''

Characteres Generum Plantarum ''Characteres generum plantarum'' (complete title , "Characteristics of the types of plants collected, described, and delineated during a voyage to islands of the South Seas, in the years 1772–1775 by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster ...

''. The name is derived from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words (), meaning "acorn" and (), meaning "to carry".Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts the following 25 species: *'' Balanophora abbreviata'' *'' Balanophora aphylla'' *'' Balanophora appressa'' *''

Balanophora coralliformis ''Balanophora coralliformis'', sometimes known as coral plant, is a flowering plant in the family Balanophoraceae and is known only from Mount Mingan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Like others in its genus, it is an obligate paras ...

'' *'' Balanophora cucphuongensis'' *'' Balanophora dioica'' *''

Balanophora elongata ''Balanophora'' is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Balanophoraceae distributed from tropical Africa and Madagascar, through South Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Japan, Queensland and the islands of the western Pacific. Ther ...

'' *'' Balanophora fargesii'' *'' Balanophora flava'' *''

Balanophora fungosa ''Balanophora fungosa'', sometimes known as fungus root, is a flowering plant in the family Balanophoraceae and occurs in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and some Pacific islands. It is a parasite growing on the roots of rainforest trees. T ...

'' *'' Balanophora harlandii'' *'' Balanophora involucrata'' *'' Balanophora japonica'' *'' Balanophora latisepala'' *'' Balanophora laxiflora'' *'' Balanophora lowii'' *'' Balanophora nipponica'' *'' Balanophora papuana'' *'' Balanophora parajaponica'' *'' Balanophora polyandra'' *''

Balanophora reflexa ''Balanophora'' is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Balanophoraceae distributed from tropical Africa and Madagascar, through South Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Japan, Queensland and the islands of the western Pacific. Ther ...

'' *'' Balanophora subcupularis'' *'' Balanophora tobiracola'' *'' Balanophora wilderi'' *'' Balanophora yakushimensis''

Ecology

''Balanophora yuwanensis'', "often considered the same species as '' B. yakushimensis''", is thought to provide the endangered dark-furred Amami rabbit ('' Pentalagus furnessi'') of the Ryukyu Archipelago with vegetative tissues as a reward for seed dispersal. Previously, it had been a mystery how seeds of ''B. yuwanensis'' were dispersed.

References

Santalales genera {{Santalales-stub