Pilostyles is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apodanthaceae. It includes about 11 species of very small, completely parasitic plants that live inside the stems of woody legumes.[1][2] Plants of this genus are sometimes referred to as stemsuckers.[3]
| Pilostyles | |
|---|---|
| |
| A cluster of Pilostyles hamiltonii flowers growing out of a Daviesia stem | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Apodanthaceae |
| Genus: | Pilostyles Guill. |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Berlinianche (Harms) Vattimo-Gil | |
The plants completely lack stems, roots, leaves, and chlorophyll. While not flowering, they do not resemble most plants, living entirely inside the host as " [...] a mycelium-like endophyte formed by strands of parenchyma cells that are in close contact to the host vasculature".[4] Their presence is only noticeable when the flowers emerge out of the stems of the host plant.[2]
Pilostyles is dioecious, with separate male and female plants.[5] Male and female plants are not commonly known to inhabit the same host.[6] Flowers are two or three millimeters wide and in some species each female flower can produce over 100 seeds, which are less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long.[7][6]
Species are found in several countries, with a discontinuous distribution: species have been found in the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, and Australia.[8]
Species include:[1]
- Pilostyles aethiopica Welw.
- Pilostyles berteroi Guill.
- Pilostyles blanchetii (Gardner) R.Br.
- Pilostyles boyacensis F.Gonzáles & Pabón-Mora
- Pilostyles coccoidea K.R.Thiele
- Pilostyles collina Dell
- Pilostyles hamiltonii C.A.Gardner
- Pilostyles haussknechtii Boiss.
- Pilostyles maya P.Ortega, Gonz.-Martínez & S.Vásquez
- Pilostyles mexicana (Brandegee) Rose
- Pilostyles thurberi A.Gray
The genus was formerly considered a member of Rafflesiaceae, and was re-classified after new DNA evidence[9][8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Pilostyles Guill. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ a b Gomes, André Luis; Fernandes, G. Wilson (1994-09-01). "Influence of Parasitism by Pilostyles ingae (Rafflesiaceae) on its Host Plant, Mimosa naguirei (Leguminosae)". Annals of Botany. 74 (3): 205–208. doi:10.1006/anbo.1994.1110.
- ^ USDA Plants Profile: Pilostyles
- ^ González, Angie D.; Pabón-Mora, Natalia; Alzate, Juan F.; González, Favio (2020). "Meristem Genes in the Highly Reduced Endoparasitic Pilostyles boyacensis (Apodanthaceae)". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 8. doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.00209. ISSN 2296-701X.
- ^ Fernandes, G. W.; De Mattos, E. A.; Franco, A. C.; Lüttge, U.; Ziegler, H. (1998). "Influence of the Parasite Pilostyles ingae (Rafflesiaceae) on some Physiological Parameters of the Host Plant, Mimosa naguirei (Mimosaceae)". Botanica Acta. 111: 51–54. doi:10.1111/j.1438-8677.1998.tb00676.x.
- ^ a b McComb, Jen (2018-08-13). "The mysterious Pilostyles is a plant within a plant". Murdoch University. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ Armstrong, W. Southern California's Most Unusual Wildflower
- ^ a b Filipowicz, Natalia; Renner, Susanne S (2010-07-21). "The worldwide holoparasitic Apodanthaceae confidently placed in the Cucurbitales by nuclear and mitochondrial gene trees". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10 (1): 219. Bibcode:2010BMCEE..10..219F. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-219. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 3055242. PMID 20663122.
- ^ Stevens, P.F. "Apodanthaceae". Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
External links
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