''Dendrophthoe falcata'' is one of the

hemiparasitic A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the ...

plants that belong to the

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate parasite, obligate parasitic plant, hemiparasitic plants in the Order (biology), order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they ...

family

Loranthaceae Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are '' Nuytsia floribunda'' (the ...

. It is the most common of all the mistletoes that occur in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. At the moment reports say that it has around 401 plant hosts. The genus ''Dendrophthoe'' comprises about 31 species spread across tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

(Flora of China, 2003) among which 7 species are found in India. ''D.falcata'' bears grey bark, thick

coriaceous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

leaves variable in shape with stout flowers (Wealth of India. 2002). The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

of ''D.falcata'' was described formerly as axillary or as developing from the scars of fallen leaves, but Y.P.S Pundir (1996) determined it to be of strictly cauliflorous nature and noted also that it bears a certain similarity to those of the fig species '' Ficus glomerata, F. pomifera'' and ''F. hispida''. Two of its varieties are widespread in India namely, var. ''falcata'' (honeysuckle mistletoe) and var. ''coccinea'' (red honeysuckle mistletoe) distinguishable by their bearing white and red flowers respectively. (Flowers of India). To date, ''D.falcata'' bears the distinction of being the mistletoe species with the largest global

host range In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasite, parasitic, a mutualism (biology), mutualistic, or a commensalism, commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with ...

(Calvin and Wilson, 2009) - a range which is continuously and rapidly widening to include more and more host species.

Host-parasite interface

Among

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...

s, parasitic relationship through the formation of haustorial linkages is known to be widespread (Wilson and Calvin, 2006). In general, haustorial connections among 72 (of the 75) aerial parasitic genera may belong to either of the four types viz., epicortical roots (ERs), clasping unions, wood roses, and bark strands (Calvin and Wilson, 1998). ERs may run along the host branches in either direction forming haustorial structures at variable intervals while “unions” occur as single points of attachment of individual

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

s hence pronounced as solitary. In ''D.falcata'' on different hosts two of the haustorial kinds have been observed viz., solitary unions as on Sugar apple (''

Annona squamosa ''Annona squamosa'' is a small, well-branched tree or shrub from the family Annonaceae that bears edible fruits called sugar apples or sweetsops or custard apples. It tolerates a tropical lowland climate better than its relatives ''Annona reticul ...

''), and epicortical roots as on Sapota ('' Achras zapota''), guava (''

Psidium guajava ''Psidium guajava'', the common guava, yellow guava, lemon guava, or apple guava is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Caribbean, Central America and South America. It is easily pollinator, pollinated by insects; when cultivated, it ...

''), pomegranate (''

Punica granatum The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have originat ...

'') have been known. It is unknown about what factors decide formation of different haustorial types by the leafy mistletoe on different hosts. The host branches infected with ''D.falcata'' show a gradual reduction in growth and diameter as compared to other healthy uninfected branches (Karunaichamy et al., 1999). This mistletoe does not have an indigenous rooting system and is dependent on the host for water and minerals.

Nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

dynamics have shown that a higher titre of N, P, K, Mg and Na in the leaves of mistletoe than the leaves of uninfected and infected hosts which may be due to differential translocation of elements within the host

phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is ...

(Surya Prakash et al., 1967; Karunaichamy et al., 1999). The haustorial connections of the parasite with the plant are devoid of any efficient retranslocation system (Smith and Stewart, 1990).

Seed dispersal and pollination

Seed dispersal and

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

are usually mediated by the birds that thrive on fruits from the parasite and/or host. Particularly in southern India, Tickel’s flowerpecker (also called the pale-billed flowerpecker) is reported to facilitate seed dispersal of ''D. falcata'' among

Neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

through fecal excretions or regurgitations (Karunaichamy et al., 1999; Hambali, 1977 and references therein). Studies conducted at the higher altitudes of the Western Ghats (where both the mistletoes and the flowerpeckers occur predominantly), which parallel the western coast of India infer that the flowerpecker pollinated mistletoes have particularly developed features specialized to attract a unique vector both to facilitate pollination and seed dispersal: the fruit and flowers have similar resemblance and more significantly, the fruiting time overlap with the next flowering season (Davidar, 1983). The hair-crested drongo (sometimes called the spangled drongo) and

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

s are also known to feed on the nectar from the ''D.falcata'' flowers adding to the list of pollinators to this mistletoe (Kunwar et al., 2005).

Medicinal uses

''Dendrophthoe falcata'' is used as traditional medicine through South and Central Asia. It possesses remarkable potential as a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

, as is evident from the

wound healing Wound healing refers to a living organism's replacement of destroyed or damaged tissue by newly produced tissue. In undamaged skin, the epidermis (surface, epithelial layer) and dermis (deeper, connective layer) form a protective barrier again ...

anti-microbial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they are used to treat. For example, antibiotics are used aga ...

, anti-oxidant and

antinociceptive In physiology, nociception , also nocioception; ) is the sensory nervous system's process of encoding noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an organism to receive a painful stimulus, convert it to a molecular ...

properties of its

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

ic extracts (Pattanayak and Sunita, 2008, Shihab et al., 2006). Medicinal properties of this hemiparasite may vary in effects respective to different hosts it establishes a relation with (Mallavadhani et al., 2006). The whole plant is used in indigenous system of medicine as cooling, bitter,

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". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

and

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

(Alekutty e al., 1993) and is useful in treating

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

menstrual disorder A menstrual disorder is characterized as any abnormal condition with regards to a woman's menstrual cycle. There are many different types of menstrual disorders that vary with signs and symptoms, including pain during menstruation, heavy bleeding, ...

s, swelling wounds,

ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...

renal In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and right in the retrop ...

and vesical calculi and vitiated conditions of kapha and pitta (Anarthe et al., 2008; Sastry, 1952; Pattanayak et al., 2008 ). Also, the decoction of plant used by women as an anti-fertility agent has been evidenced to possess

anticancer An anticarcinogen (also known as a carcinopreventive agent) is a substance that counteracts the effects of a carcinogen or inhibits the development of cancer. Anticarcinogens are different from anticarcinoma agents (also known as anticancer or ant ...

activity (Nadkarni, 1993). The leaf ethanolic extract significantly and dose dependently inhibits the

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compone ...

induced writhing in mice (Shihab et al., 2006) and has indicated a low level

toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

in the

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp or ''Sea-Monkeys, sea monkeys''. It is the only genus in the Family (biology), family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to t ...

lethality assays. Besides, a more recent work by Pattanayak et al. (2008) shows significant tumor reduction in induced

mammary A mammary gland is an exocrine gland that produces milk in humans and other mammals. Mammals get their name from the Latin word ''mamma'', "breast". The mammary glands are arranged in organs such as the breasts in primates (for example, humans ...

carcinogenesis Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cell (biology), cells are malignant transformation, transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, G ...

in Wistar female rats when fed with hydroalcoholic extracts of ''D. falcata''.

Diseases

''Dendrophthoe falcata'' is susceptible to diseases such as

leaf blight Blight is a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. Description Blight is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. Ac ...

caused by ''

Colletotrichum ''Colletotrichum'' (sexual stage: ''Glomerella'') is a genus of fungi that are symbionts to plants as endophytes (living within the plant) or phytopathogens. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens, but some species may have a mu ...

'' stage of '' Glomerella cingulata'' (Mohamed Ali and Florence, 1987).

Hyper-parasitism

''Dendrophthoe falcata'' can be parasitised by '' Scurrula cordifolia'' (another mistletoe) (Pundir, 1979). Similarly, '' Viscum orientale'' has also been reported to grow on ''D. falcata'' (Saxena, 1971). In another instance ''

Cuscuta reflexa ''Cuscuta reflexa'', the giant dodder or ulan ulan, is one of about 220 species in genus ''Cuscuta'' of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). It is common in the Indian subcontinent and the Greater Himalayas and as far south as Malaysia an ...

'' has been shown to act as a rival to the leafy mistletoe (Nath and Indira, 1975). From a conservation biologists’ viewpoint mistletoes are considered as a keystone resource of

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

(Watson, 2001) and from that of an ethnobiologist’s and/or pharmacologist’s (Pattanayak et al., 2008), they possess numerous ethnomedicinal assets with prospects extending to promises even for use as an

anti-tumor Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a cu ...

agent. Besides, a farmer’s perspective entails that they are notorious and devastating parasitic plants. Being backed by easy seed dispersal mediated by

frugivorous A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

birds, they continue to pose serious losses to economically valuable fruit trees, flowering plants and those with medicinal properties whether growing in forests, orchards or gardens (Sridhar and Rao, 1978).

Gallery

File:Dendrophthoe falcata var. falcata - Honey Suckle Mistletoe at Blathur 2017 (1).jpg, ''Dendrophthoe falcata'' (pale / 'white' variety) exhibiting its characteristic

cauliflory Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. It is rare in temperate regions but common in tropical forests. There have been several st ...

. File:Dendrophthoe falcata in Hyderabad, AP W2 IMG 0457.jpg, Close-up of flower mouths showing reflexed corolla lobes and exserted pistil and stamens. File:Dendrophthoe falcata 13.JPG, Elongate buds of red variety. File:Dendrophthoe falcata 02.JPG, Buds and flower mouths of red variety, showing texture of green corolla limb and bud tips. File:Bandal (Marathi- बन्दाल) (2318229997).jpg, Fruits of ''Dendrophthoe falcata''.

References

* Alekutty NA, Srinivasan KK, Gundu Rao P, Udupa AC, Keshavamurthy KR. Diuretic and antilithiatic activity of Dendrophthoe falcata. Fitoterapia 1993;64:325-31. * Anarthe SJ, Bhalke RD, Jadhav RB, Surana SJ: In vitro antioxidant activities of methanol extract of Dendrophthoe falcata Linn. Stem. Biomed 3(2) July–September 2008. pp. 182–189. * Calvin, C. L., And C. A. Wilson. 1998. The Haustorial System In African Loranthaceae. In R. Polhill and D. Wiens ds. The mistletoes of Africa, 17–36. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. * Calvin, C.L., Wilson, C.A. 2009. Epiparasitism in Phoradendron durangense and P. falcatum (Viscaceae). Aliso, 27:1–12. * Davidar, P. Similarity between Flowers and Fruits in some Flowerpecker Pollinated Mistletoes. Biotropica 15:32-37 (1983). * Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 227. June 1, 2003 Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at www.EFloras.org. * Hambali, G. G. (1977) On mistletoe parasitism. Proceedings of the 6th Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society Conference, Indonesia, 1977. pp. 58–66 * Karunaichamy, Kstk; Arp, K. Paliwal and P. A (1999). "Biomass and nutrient dynamics of mistletoe (Dendrophthoe falcata) and neem (Azadirachta indica) seedlings.". Current Science 76 (6): 840–843. * Kunwar, R.M., Adhikari, N., Devkota, M.P. Indigenous use of mistletoes in tropical and temperate region of Nepal, Banko Janakari 15:38-42 (2005). * Mallavadhani, UV, Narasimhan, K, Sudhakar, AVS, Mahapatra, A, Li, W, Breemen, RBV. “Three New Pentacyclic Triterpenes and Some Flavonoids from the Fruits of an Indian Ayurvedic Plant Dendrophthoe falcata and Their Estrogen Receptor Binding Activity”, Chem. Pharm. Bull., 54:740-744 (2006). * Mohamed Ali, M.I., and Florence, E.J.M., 1987. Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 88:275-277. * Nadkarni K.M. 1993. Indian Materia Medica, vol. I, Popular Prakashan, pp. 750 * Nath, V.R., Indira, S. 1975. Cuscuta-Reflexa a Rival to Dendrophthoe falcata in Home Gardens. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 72:607-608. * Pattanayak S.P. and Sunita P.; Wound healing, anti-microbial and antioxidant potential of Dendrophthoe falcata (L.f) Ettingsh. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 120:241-247 (2008). * Pattanayak, SP; Mazumder PM, Sunita P., 2008. Dendrophthoe falcata (Lf): a consensus review. Pharmacognosy Reviews 8: 359-368. * Pundir, Y. P. S: On the cauliflorous mode of flowering cauliflory in Dendrophthoe falcata Lf Ettingsh Loranthaceae. World Weeds 3(1/2): 87-106 1996. * Pundir, Y.P.S. !979. A note on the biological control of Scurrula cordifolia (Wall.) G. Don by another mistletoe in Sivalik Hills (India). Weed Research, 21:233 - 234 * Sastry B. N., “The Wealth of India (Raw Materials),” Vol. III, CSIR, New Delhi, India, 1952, p. 34. * Saxena, H.O. 1971 A parasite Viscum orientale on another Dendrophthoe falcata. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 68: 502 * Shihab, HM, Iqbal, AM, Sukla, M, Methedi, MM, Kumar, SS, Masami, I, Jamal, US. Antioxidant, antinociceptive activity and general toxicity study of Dendrophthoe falcata and isolation of quercitrin as the major component. Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine, 6:355-360 (2006). * Smith, S. and Stewart, G. R., Plant Physiol., 1990, 94, 1472–1476. * Sridhar, T.S., and Rao, V.R. 1978. Dendrophthoe falcata, a menace to fruit orchards. Current Science 38: 908. * The Wealth of India. 2002. Raw materials, Vol- III, 4th edition, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research New Delhi, *Reprinted by the Publication of Information Directorate, New Delhi, p. 588. * Watson, D. 2001. Mistletoe - a keystone resource in forests and woodlands worldwide. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 32: 219-249. * Wilson, CA, Calvin, CL (2006) An Origin Of Aerial Branch Parasitism In The Mistletoe Family, Loranthaceae. American Journal of Botany 93(5): 787–796. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5256810

falcata The falcata is a type of sword typical of pre-Roman Iberia. The falcata was used to great effect for warfare in the ancient Iberian Peninsula, and is firmly associated with the southern Iberian tribes, among other ancient peoples of Hispania. ...

Flora of the Indian subcontinent Medicinal plants of Asia