''Tristerix aphyllus'' is a holoparasitic plant species of the genus '' Tristerix'' in 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 ...

. It is endemic to Chile. '' T. aphyllus'' is sometimes called the "cactus mistletoe." It should not be confused with the mistletoe cactus, which is an epiphytic cactus, and not a mistletoe.

Description

''Tristerix aphyllus'' parasitizes two species of cactus; ''

Echinopsis chiloensis ''Leucostele chiloensis'' is a species of cactus native to South America; genus members are known as ''hedgehog cacti'', ''sea-urchin cactus'' or ''Easter lily cactus''. Description This species, ''L chiloensis'', is tree-like with branching str ...

'' and ''

Eulychnia acida ''Eulychnia acida'' is a flowering plant in the family Cactaceae A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with s ...

'', and in its adult form shows only its flowers and its fruits, bursting forth spectacularly from the columnar cacti which are its hosts. Mauseth (2011) discusses the morphological/anatomical effects of ''T. aphyllus'' on the cactus ''Echinopsis chiloensis''.

Taxonomy

''T. aphyllus'' was first described by John Miers in 1830 as ''Loranthus aphyllus'' but with the publication in 1973 of an article by Barlow & Wiens, became ''Tristerix aphyllus'' (authors, Tieghem (Tiegh.)). Other synonyms are: * ''Loranthus cactorum''

Hook. Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

Arn. George Arnott Walker Arnott of Arlary (6 February 1799 – 17 April 1868) was a Scottish botanist. He collaborated with botanists from around the world and served as a regius professor of botany at the University of Glasgow. An orchid genus ' ...

Bot. Beechey Voy. 25. 1830 ec 1830* ''Loranthus pumilus''

Miers Miers is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Sir Anthony Miers (1906–1985), Royal Navy admiral *Sir David Miers (born 1937), British ambassador *Earl Schenck Miers (1910–1972), American historian *Edward J. Miers (1851–1930), Eng ...

ex Schult. & Schult.f. Syst. Veg., ed. 15 bis oemer & Schultes7(2): 1649. 1830 ct-Dec 1830 * ''Phrygilanthus aphyllus'' (

ex DC.)

Eichler Several people are named Eichler: * August W. Eichler (1839–1887), German botanist * Caroline Eichler (1808/9–1843), German inventor, first woman to be awarded a patent (for her leg prosthesis) * Eunice Eichler (1932–2017), New Zealand Salvat ...

Fl. Bras. (Martius) 5(2): 47. 1868 5 Jul 1868(sourcesː ''et.al.'', International Plant Names Index, 2018)

References

External links

Images of ''Tristerix aphyllus'' at PhytoImages, Southern Illinois University.
Accessed 4 April 2018. {{taxonbar, from=Q15356585 aphyllus Loranthaceae Endemic flora of Chile Plants described in 1973 Taxa named by Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem