Hydnora visseri

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Hydnora visseri
Flower of Hydnora visseri.

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Piperales
Family: Aristolochiaceae
Subfamily: Hydnoroideae
Genus: Hydnora
Species:
H. visseri
Binomial name
Hydnora visseri
Bolin, E.Maass, & Musselman[2]

Hydnora visseri, the Visser's hydnora, is a subterranean

holoparasitic plant, lacking leaves and roots, and is described from southwestern Namibia and northwestern South Africa and has the longest tepal lobes of all Hydnora
species. The genus Hydnora is composed entirely of holoparasitic plants that attach to the root of their hosts and are restricted to Africa and southwestern Asia.

Description

Hydnora visseri, as a holoparasitic plant, lacks chlorophyll and depends entirely on its hosts,

haustoria (specialized organs for parasitizing the host plant), flower buds, or bifurcations of the rhizome. The rhizomes when broken are reddish to pink and contain high levels of tannins.[3]

The only portion of the plant that emerges from the soil surface is the large fleshy flower. The pollination of Visser's hydnora involves a trap and release mechanism where dermestid beetles are detained for several days, then released dusted with pollen.[4] The fruit is a large berry with thousands of small (< 1mm diameter) seeds, and is usually buried or just at the soil surface.[5]

Taxonomy

In South African and Namibia where Hydnora visseri may be encountered, four other Hydnora species exist, H. abyssincia, H. africana, H. longicollis and H. triceps.[6] H. visseri can be discriminated from those taxa by its exclusive hosts Euphorbia gummifera and E. gregaria, and by having the longest tepals of any Hydnora spp. in Southern Africa, 5.5–9 cm long.[5]

The family

Hydnoraceae has been submerged within the Aristolochiaceae in the Piperales, based on a modern phylogenetic study that also found that the plastome of H. visseri is highly reduced, relative to photosynthetic plants, with only 27K base pairs.[7]

Etymology

Distribution and habitat

Hydnora visseri grows in the winter rainfall and transitional rainfall areas of the

WWF has called the Succulent-Karoo and/or Nama-Karoo biomes.[5][1] Hydnora visseri is most easily located by searching in around the base of the host Euphorbia
plants.

Genomics

The highly reduced plastid genome map of Hydnora visseri.[7]

Hydnora visseri possesses one of the

plastome of Hydnora visseri shows extreme reduction in both size (27,233 bp) and gene content (24 genes appear to be functional).[7]

Conservation

Based on the

Tsau ǁKhaeb National Park.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Red List of South African Plants". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ^ "International Plant Names Index". Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  3. PMID 21636511
    .
  4. doi:10.1086/593047
    .
  5. ^
    doi:10.1600/036364411X569453
    .
  6. ^ Kalassen, Esmerialda; Kwembeya, Ezekeil. "A CHECKLIST OF NAMIBIAN INDIGENOUS AND NATURALISED PLANTS" (PDF). NBRI: Occasional Contributions No.5. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. ^
    PMID 26739167
    .
  8. OCLC 461974285
    .
  9. ^ Bailly, Anatole. "Greek-french dictionary online". www.tabularium.be. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  10. ISBN 9780521866453
    .
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