Psittacanthus acinarius
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| Psittacanthus acinarius | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Santalales |
| Family: | Loranthaceae |
| Genus: | Psittacanthus |
| Species: | P. acinarius |
| Binomial name | |
| Psittacanthus acinarius | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
Loranthus warmingii (Eichler) Danser | |
Psittacanthus acinarius is a species of mistletoe in the family Loranthaceae, which is native to Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela,[3] and French Guiana.[4]
Psittacanthus acinarius has pendulous branches, which are circular in cross-section, except at the apex where the cross-section is slightly quadrangular.[4] There are no epicortical roots.[4] The petiolate, leathery leaves are opposite and of length 10–22 cm and width 6–15 cm, with the leaf base being acute or obtuse, the apex obtuse, rounded, with inconspicuous ribbing.[4] The position of the inflorescence is terminal and has persistent non-fused bracts, with an umbel of pedunculate triads.[4] The external colour of the petals is greenish; the internal colour is red and they have a straight style.[4] The buds are long and straight with a dilated base and an acute apex.[4] The stamens are dimorphic. The anthers are red and 7–8 mm in length.[4] The stigma is globose and red.[4] The fruit is ellipsoidal or ovoid, of length 20 mm, width 10 mm long, and when immature is reddish, and when ripe black.[4] The seed has 4–6 cotyledons.[4]
The terminal position of the inflorescences, the robust and fleshy aspect of the peduncles and flowers, the presence of the dilated sub-floral dome, and the greenish color of the flowers are distinctive characteristics of the species.[4] It presents great variability in leaf format.[4] In Brazil, it is one of the most common mistletoe species.[4]
Distribution
It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela,[3] and French Guiana.[4]
In Brazil, it is found in the Amazon rainforest, Caatinga, Central Brazilian Savanna, and the Pantanal, inhabiting the vegetation types of Caatinga, Amazonian Campinarana, Cerrado, riverine forest and/or gallery forest, Igapó flooded forest, Terra Firme Forest, Várzea inundated forest), seasonally semideciduous forest, and the Amazonian Savanna.[4]
Taxonomy
Psittacanthus acinarius was first described by von Martius in 1829 as Loranthus acinarius,[5][6] and in 1830, he reassigned it to his newly described genus Psittacanthus.[1][2]