''Lysiana subfalcata'', common name Northern mistletoe, is a spreading to pendulous hemi-parasitic shrub in the

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 ...

(a mistletoe family) which occurs in all mainland states of

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 ...

except

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

.Barlow, B.A. (1984
Flora of Australia online: ''Lysiana subfalcata''.
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volume 22 (1984), a product of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

Description

''Lysiana subfalcata'' is a smooth mistletoe with no hairs on its branches, leaves or flowers. The leaves are

oblanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

, mostly grey-green, 20–120 mm long and 4–20 mm wide, and do not always have a midvein. The paired flowers have an unlobed or weakly lobed calyx and a corolla which is 25–50 mm long. The mature corolla is red, rarely yellow, and sometimes green or black tipped. The fruits are indehiscent, succulent, yellowish and 8–14 mm long, usually pale and somewhat translucent. ''Lysiana subfalcata'' is distinguished from other local (Northern Territory) species of Lysiana by the combination of its oblanceolate leaves, its non-winged pedicels, the paired flowers on a common peduncle, its non-septate anthers, the largely red corolla tube with green or yellow lobes, and the yellowish fruit that are longer than wide. ''Lysiana subfalcata'' can be confused with '' Lysiana spathulata'', but '' L. spathulata'' has broader leaves, septate anthers, and a slightly different host and habitat range.

Flowering and fruiting

The South Australian flora website describes it as flowering and fruiting throughout the year, but in the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory flora website states that it flowers from March to October and fruits from April to October.

Ecology

It is found in open forests and woodland. However, the Northern Territory flora website describes it as occurring on rocky or gravelly ranges, on hills or rises, on sandplains, and on intermittent watercourses and run-on areas. Major hosts for ''Lysiana subfalcata'' in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

are species in the genera ''

Lysiphyllum ''Lysiphyllum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes nine species of trees, semi-scandent shrubs, and lianas which range from India through Southeast Asia to Australasia. Typical habitats include seasonally-d ...

'', ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

'', and ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'', while in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(and for Australia) they are listed as species in the genera ''

Atalaya Atalaya (Spanish for watchtower) may refer to: Places Spain * Atalaya, Badajoz, a municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura * Atalaya (Madrid), a ward in Madrid * Atalaya del Cañavate, a municipality in the province of Cuenca, Casti ...

'', '' Heterodendrum'', ''

Bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and ...

'', ''

Santalum ''Santalum'' is a genus of woody flowering plants in the Santalaceae family, the best known and most commercially valuable of which is the Indian sandalwood tree, '' S. album''. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasit ...

'' and the family

Casuarinaceae The Casuarinaceae are a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of four genera and 91 species of trees and shrubs native to eastern Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and the Pacific ...

. Hosts in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

are listed as including species of ''

'', '' Alectryon'', ''

'', ''

Capparis ''Capparis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Capparaceae. It includes 142 species of shrubs or lianas which are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes. ''Capparis'' species occur over a wide range of habitat in the subtr ...

'', ''

Grevillea ''Grevillea'' (), commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the ...

'', ''

Pittosporum ''Pittosporum'' ( or The first pronunciation is that expected for traditional English pronunciation of Latin, Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607) is a genus of about 250 species of flow ...

'', '' Senna'' and ''

Vachellia ''Vachellia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus '' Acacia'' until 2009. ''Vachellia'' ...

''.

Ethnobotany

Aboriginal groups use ''Lysiana subfalcata'' in various ways: *The

Alyawarr The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, are an Aboriginal Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local tra ...

for food and as a source of water. *The

Anmatyerr The Anmatyerr (also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Easte ...

for firewood, and to make toys and weapons. *The Kaytetye use the fruit for food. *The Pintupi Luritja use the fruit for food. * The

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

use the fruit as food, to make gums, as plant food for animals; the plant for shelter and shade, to make toys and weapons, fish poisons and traps. *The Waramangu for weapons and tools, fish-poisons and traps. *The Warlpiri as food, as plant foods for animals; the plant for shade and shelter, to make weapons and tools, fish-poisons and traps. *The

Western Arrernte Arrernte or Aranda (; ), or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are ...

people for shade and shelter.

Gallery

Lysiana subfalcata on Lysiphyllum gilvum Burke River floodplain Boulia Queensland P1030900.jpg, Red corolla on '' Lysiphyllum gilvum'',Burke River floodplain, QLD Lysiana subfalcata on Lysiphyllum gilvum Burke River floodplain Boulia Queensland P1030561.jpg, on '' Lysiphyllum gilvum'',Burke River floodplain, QLD Lysiana subfalcata IMG 20200613 161017.jpg, on ''

Atalaya hemiglauca ''Atalaya hemiglauca'', commonly known as whitewood or cattle bush, is a species of plant in the Sapindaceae, soapberry (Sapindaceae) family (biology), family. It is native to northern and inland Australia where it occurs from Western Australia ...

'', Narran River floodplain, NSW Lysiana_subfalcata_P6140568.jpg, on ''

References

External links

''Lysiana subfalcata'' GBIF occurrence data
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18079900 Loranthaceae subfalcata Flora of Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of New South Wales Parasitic plants Plants described in 1963 Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker