Cheilotheca crocea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cheilotheca crocea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Cheilotheca |
| Species: | C. crocea |
| Binomial name | |
| Cheilotheca crocea L.Wu & Yan Liu | |
Cheilotheca crocea is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It was first described in 2016 by Lei Wu and Yan Liu.[1]
The species is native to southern China, where it is known from Guangxi.[2][1] It is a holomycotrophic plant that derives nutrients through symbiotic relationships with fungi rather than photosynthesis.[2]
Cheilotheca crocea is a non-photosynthetic, mycoheterotrophic herb. It is morphologically most similar to Cheilotheca malayana, but differs in having filaments of equal length and elongate anthers that open via two longitudinal slits at dehiscence (botany), whereas C. malayana has unequal filaments and short anthers with a single terminal slit.[1]
Like other members of the genus, it lacks chlorophyll and depends on fungal associations for its carbon and nutrient requirements.
Taxonomy
The species was formally described in 2016 in Phytotaxa as part of a study documenting new records of the genus Cheilotheca in China.[1] It belongs to the subfamily Monotropoideae within the family Ericaceae, a group characterized by mycoheterotrophic plants.
The specific epithet crocea refers to the color of the petals.[3]