''Arceuthobium minutissimum'', known as the Indian dwarf mistletoe or Himalayan dwarf mistletoe, is a leafless

parasitic plant 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 Parasite, parasitic plants develop a specialized organ ...

of ''

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain v ...

''. It is considered the smallest known

dicotyledonous The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

plant.

Description

Individual shoots grow to a height of 5 millimeters, and up to 1 centimeter with mature fruit. Shoots emerge from both the

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

and needles of the host plant. Flowers are

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 comparable with gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy, and contras ...

, and seed dispersal occurs in September.

Distribution and host species

The species occurs in dry forests of the

Himalayan mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 peak ...

at an approximate altitude of 2500–3500 meters. It has been reported in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Pakistan. ''A. minutissimum'' infects the crowns of trees of all ages. It severely impacts the health of host-trees, and causes the loss of needles. Although ''P. wallichiana'' is the primary host, it has been recorded to infect ''

Pinus gerardiana ''Pinus gerardiana'', commonly known as the chilghoza pine or neja, is a pine species native to parts of central and southern Asia, including the western Himalayas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed it as near thre ...

'' in Pakistan. Unconfirmed reports show that it may also infect ''

Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir, West Himalayan fir, or silver fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a ...

'' and ''

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic ...

''. It has been considered that there is potential for ''A. minutissimum'' to become an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

in Europe.

References

{{Authority control minutissimum Flora of Pakistan Flora of Bhutan Flora of India (region) Flora of Nepal

Description

Distribution and host species

See also

References