''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the 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 ...
, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flowers, though some species have reversed to unisexual flowers. Other treatments restrict the genus to a few species. The systematic situation of ''Loranthus'' is not entirely clear.
The generic name in
botanical Latin
Botanical Latin is a technical language based on Neo-Latin, used for descriptions of botanical taxa. From 1935 to 2011, the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature mandated Botanical Latin to be used for the descriptions of new taxa (other tha ...
means strap-flower, in reference to the shape of the petals.
Taxonomy
The taxonomic history of the generic name ''Loranthus'' is complicated. In 1753,
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
used the name ''Loranthus'' for a genus of one species, ''Loranthus americanus'', which was thus the
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
. He later added other species, including ''Loranthus scurrula'' in 1762, a species he had previously placed in a separate genus, ''Scurrula'', and ''Loranthus europaeus'' in 1763, a name first used by Jacquin in 1762. However, ''Loranthus americanus'' has been included in ''
Psittacanthus
''Psittacanthus'', also parrot-flower, is a plant genus in the family (biology), family Loranthaceae. It is a type of mistletoe native from central Mexico southwards to Central America and parts of South America.Vázquez Collazo, I. & Geils, B.W. ...
'' since that genus was first erected in 1830. Application of priority as set out in the
requires the name ''Loranthus'' to be used instead of ''Psittacanthus'', with a different genus name used for the remaining species Linnaeus placed in ''Loranthus''. To avoid altering established usage, the
International Botanical Congress
International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of Botany, botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the locatio ...
of 1930 decided to conserve ''Loranthus''
L. (1762), with the type species ''Loranthus scurrula'', over ''Loranthus''
L. (1753). However, when ''Loranthus'' in this sense was split further, ''Loranthus scurrula'' was placed in the revived genus ''Scurrula''. The conservation decision in 1930 meant that ''Loranthus'' should be used instead of ''Scurrula'', and a different name used for ''Scurrula''.
[ Again to avoid altering established usage, a proposal was agreed in 1964 to conserve ''Loranthus'' Jacq. (1762), with the type species ''Loranthus europaeus'', over ''Loranthus'' L. (1753).][
]
Species
The number of species recognized in the genus ''Loranthus'' has varied widely. At one time it included almost all mistletoes. It was then split into many genera, leaving only '' L. europaeus'' from Europe eastwards and '' L. odoratus'' from tropical Asia.[ The ''Flora of China'' lists six species native to China (three endemic), stating that there are about ten species in total.][
] Species recognized are:
*''Loranthus delavayi
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Tiegh.
*''Loranthus europaeus
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Jacq.
*''Loranthus guizhouensis
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' H.X.Qiu
*''Loranthus kaoi
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' (J.M. Chao) H.S.Kiu
*''Loranthus lambertianus
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Schult.f.
*''Loranthus longiflorus
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Desr.
*''Loranthus macrantherus
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' (Eichler) Hemsl.
*''Loranthus pseudo-odoratus
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Lingelsh.
*''Loranthus pulverulentus
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Wall.
*''Loranthus tanakae
''Loranthus'' is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flower ...
'' Franch. & Sav.
Ecology
Some species of ''Loranthus'', in the broad sense, are parasites on cultivated trees; for example, they occur in Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
and Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
India on mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
trees (''Mangifera indica
''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is an evergreen species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height and width of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern m ...
''), sapota trees (''Manilkara zapota
''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, chicozapote, chicoo, chicle, naseberry, nispero, or
soapapple, among other names, is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. An example natural occurrence is ...
'') and poplar trees.[Kumari, S., Singh, A.K., Kumar, S., and Shah, V.K. (2020). A Hidden Problem: ''Loranthus falcatus'' L. & Loranthus ''parasitica'' L. for Horticulture Crops. ''Agriculture and food eNewsletter'', 2(5):719-721. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341182673_A_Hidden_Problem_Loranthus_Falcatus_L_Loranthus_Parasitica_L_for_Horticulture_Crops] The majority of the ''Anogeissus latifolia
''Terminalia anogeissiana'' is a species of small to medium-sized trees native to the Indian subcontinent only. Its common names are axlewood (English), ''bakli, baajhi, dhau, dhawa, dhawra, dhawda'', or ''dhaora'' (Hindi).
It is one of the mo ...
'' trees in the Biligirirangan Hills
The Biligirirangana Hills or Biligirirangan Hills (as referred to in biology and geology) is a hill range situated in Chamarajanagar District in south-western Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India. The area is ...
of Karnataka are infected by ''Loranthus'' species and in Africa, they are pests in cocoa plantations. These plants grow strongly on ageing trees particularly somewhere in the middle of old branches. Once established, they steal minerals and water, as well as block sunlight by covering the encroached place.[
The flowers of ''Loranthus europaeus'' are small, green, usually have four to six parts, and may be either unisexual or bisexual. Other species of a broader ''Loranthus'' have very large, showy flowers, with blooms in bright colours. The fruits are berries, usually containing a single seed, that is dispersed by birds.
The floral characteristics indicate that it is ornithophilous in nature and has moderate quantity nectar stored in its perianth tube. The mature buds require external factors like tripping to ensure that they open up. In the absence of this, the buds fall off without opening. Birds help in this process and mature buds eject a cloud of pollens that sticks to the head or beak of the probing bird. The birds seen visiting these flowers in India are ]Tickell's flowerpecker
The pale-billed flowerpecker or Tickell's flowerpecker (''Dicaeum erythrorhynchos'') is a tiny bird that feeds on nectar and berries, found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and western Myanmar. The bird is common especially in urban gardens with b ...
, purple-rumped sunbird, purple sunbird
The purple sunbird (''Cinnyris asiaticus'') is a small bird in the sunbird family. It occurs in parts of the Arabian peninsula and South and Southeast Asia. It has a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird but of ...
and spider-hunter.
Culture and religion
According to Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
, the Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
considered "mistletoe" a remedy for barrenness in animals and an antidote to poison
A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
, and sacred when growing on oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
trees. He describes a Celtic ritual sacrifice and banquet at which a druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...
dressed in white would climb an oak tree to collect mistletoe using a gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
en sickle
A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...
.
Modern botanists believe the described species in oak trees was Loranthus europaeus.
This legend is often referred to in the popular ''Asterix
''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...
'' comic books, where the druid Getafix is often seen collecting mistletoe with a golden sickle.
Modern druids
Druidry, sometimes termed Druidism, is a modern spiritual or religious movement that promotes the cultivation of honorable relationships with the physical landscapes, flora, fauna, and diverse peoples of the world, as well as with nature de ...
in the Americas may use the native American '' Phoradendron leucarpum'' as well as other mistletoe species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163517
Loranthaceae
Loranthaceae genera