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Description

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
Small hemiparasitic shrubs with simple or forked hairs and a single haustorial attachment. Flowers 1-3, borne in axils; bract cup-shaped with small limb. Corolla tubular below, 5-merous, with radially arranged lobes spreading and later reflexed; tube with basal swelling, constricted above and narrowly funnel-shaped above; filaments erect, upper part thickened and coiling at anthesis, attached nearly halfway up corolla lobes. Berry narrowly obovoid.
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Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
bibliographic citation
Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Actinanthella Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=494
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Mark Hyde
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Bart Wursten
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Petra Ballings
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Flora of Zimbabwe

Actinanthella

provided by wikipedia EN

Actinanthella is a small genus of hemiparasitic shrubs in the Loranthaceae family. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[1]

Taxonomy

There are two species in the genus:[1]

Description

The species in the genus are small hemiparasitic shrubs with simple or forked hairs and a single haustorial attachment. They have 1-3 flowers which are borne in the axils, and bracts are cup-shaped with a small limb. The petal structure is tubular below, with radially arranged lobes that first spread and are later reflexed. The tube itself has basal swelling, and is constricted and narrowly funnel-shaped above. The filaments are erect, with the upper part thickened and coiling at the ends. The berry of the plants are shaped narrowly obovoid.[2][3]

Ecology

The recorded host plants of Actinanthella are Erythroxylum, Boscia, and Olea.[4]

Like several other African genera of hemiparasitic shrubs, Actinanthella is extremely specialized for pollination. Not only do their petals change coloration once mature to attract pollinators, but their corollas also split to form an opening through which sunbirds can insert their beaks. When that happens, a rapid response triggers, opening the flower and depositing pollen on the pollinator's head.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Actinanthella Balle". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  2. ^ "Flora of Mozambique: Genus page: Actinanthella". www.mozambiqueflora.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  3. ^ "Flora of Zimbabwe: Genus page: Actinanthella". www.zimbabweflora.co.zw. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  4. ^ Grímsson, Friðgeir; Xafis, Alexandros; Neumann, Frank H.; Scott, Louis; Bamford, Marion K.; Zetter, Reinhard (2018-07-04). "The first Loranthaceae fossils from Africa". Grana. 57 (4): 249–259. doi:10.1080/00173134.2018.1430167. ISSN 0017-3134. PMC 5940175. PMID 29780299.
  5. ^ Vidal-Russell, Romina; Nickrent, Daniel L. (2008). "Evolutionary relationships in the showy mistletoe family (Loranthaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 95 (8): 1015–1029. doi:10.3732/ajb.0800085. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 21632422.
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Actinanthella: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Actinanthella is a small genus of hemiparasitic shrubs in the Loranthaceae family. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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Wikipedia authors and editors
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wikipedia EN