''Cytinus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s. Species in this genus do not produce

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to ...

, but rely fully on its host plant. ''Cytinus'' usually parasitizes ''

Cistus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean regio ...

'' and '' Halimium'', two genera of plants in the family

Cistaceae The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that ar ...

. It has also been found on ''Ptilostemon chamaepeuce''. Several species are found in the

Mediterranean Region In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, with a possibly undescribed species from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Biology

''C. capensis'' and ''C. sanguineus'' are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

, while ''C. hypocistis'' is

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy i ...

. Nickrent ''et al.'' 2004 ''C. hypocistis'' has been shown to infect mainly '' Halimium halimifolium'' and ''

Cistus monspeliensis ''Cistus monspeliensis'' is a species of rockrose known by the common name Montpellier cistus. It is native to southern Europe and northern Africa, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecosystems of matorral—maquis shrublands. D ...

'' in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

Systematics

The genus ''Cytinus'' was previously included in the parasitic family

Rafflesiaceae The Rafflesiaceae are a family of rare parasitic plants comprising 36 species in 3 genera found in the tropical forests of east and southeast Asia, including '' Rafflesia arnoldii'', which has the largest flowers of all plants. The plants are ...

, but is now put into the family Cytinaceae (order

Malvales The Malvales are an order of flowering plants. As circumscribed by APG II-system, the order includes about 6000 species within 9 families. The order is placed in the eurosids II, which are part of the eudicots. The plants are mostly shrubs a ...

), together with the genus '' Bdallophytum'' with four species. ''Cytinus ruber'' is no longer considered a separate species, but is now a subspecies of ''C. hypocistis''.

Uses

The young ''C. hypocistis'' is cooked as an

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus '' Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified ...

substitute and an extract has been used in herbal medicine for

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complication ...

, throat tumors and as an

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian pl ...

. ''C. ruber'' is also edible and was used in

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

as an

emmenagogue Emmenagogues (also spelled ''emmenagogs'') are herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus; some stimulate menstruation. Women use emmenagogues to stimulate menstrual flow when menstruation is absent for reasons other than pregnan ...

.The University of Reading
''Cytinus hypocistis''

Species

* ''

Cytinus capensis ''Cytinus'' is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. Species in this genus do not produce chlorophyll, but rely fully on its host plant. ''Cytinus'' usually parasitizes ''Cistus'' and ''Halimium'', two genera of plants in the family Cistaceae. I ...

'' — South Africa * ''

Cytinus hypocistis ''Cytinus hypocistis'' is an ant-pollinated species of parasitic plant in the family Cytinaceae having four subspecies. It is found primarily in locations that surround the Mediterranean Sea, and is the type for the genus ''Cytinus''. The binomia ...

'' — Mediterranean from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

to southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

* ''

Cytinus ruber ''Cytinus'' is a genus of parasite, parasitic flowering plants. Species in this genus do not produce chlorophyll, but rely fully on its host plant. ''Cytinus'' usually parasitizes ''Cistus'' and ''Halimium'', two genera of plants in the family Ci ...

'' - Mediterranean (sometimes listed as ''C. hypocistis'' ssp. ''clusii'') * ''

Cytinus sanguineus ''Cytinus sanguineus'' is a species of parasitic plant in the family Cytinaceae Cytinaceae is a family of parasitic flowering plants. It comprises two genera, ''Cytinus'' and ''Bdallophytum'', totalling ten species. These two genera were form ...

'' — South Africa * ''

Cytinus visseri ''Cytinus visseri'', commonly known as the Northern vampire cup, is a holoparasitic flowering plant in the family Cytinaceae. This flower favorably interacts with another plant, '' Helichrysum reflexum'', that is a woody shrub in South Africa. E ...

'' — South Africa

Footnotes

References

* (2010): 658. Cytinus ruber Cytinaceae. Bot. Mag. 26(4): 314–321. * (2004): Phylogenetic inference in Rafflesiales: the influence of rate heterogeneity and horizontal gene transfer. ''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' 4: 40. * (2021): Cytinus under the microscope: disclosing the secrets of a parasitic plant. ''Plants''. (with link to full text PDF) * (2007): Host Specificity in the Parasitic Plant Cytinus hypocistis. ''Research Letters in Ecology''. (with link to full text PDF)

External links

Pictures of type specimens from South Africa
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2627781 Cytinaceae Flora of Europe Parasitic plants Medicinal plants Malvales genera