Balanophoraceae
Encyclopedia
Balanophoraceae is a subtropical to tropical family
of obligate parasitic flowering plants, notable for their unusual development and obscure affinities. The family consist of 17 genera and approximately 50 species. The plants are normally found in moist inland forests growing on tree roots and have an aboveground inflorescence
with the overall appearance of a fungus, composed of numerous minute flowers. The inflorescences develop inside the tuberous underground part of the plant, before rupturing it and surfacing. The plants are monoecious, or dioecious, and the fruits are indehiscent drupes or nuts. The underground portion, which attaches itself to the host, looks like a tuber, and is not a proper root system. The plants contain no chlorophyll
. Balanophora means bearing an acorn (shape of the femal inflorescence).
The APG II system
, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system
, of 1998), also recognizes this family but leaves it unplaced, as to order and higher grouping. The AP-Website indicates that the family should be included in the order Santalales
(post APG II), where it was also placed by the Cronquist system
(1981).
The species
Balanophora elongata is a parasite on tree roots and can be found in montane forest such as that of the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park
in the Indonesia
n province of West Java
.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of obligate parasitic flowering plants, notable for their unusual development and obscure affinities. The family consist of 17 genera and approximately 50 species. The plants are normally found in moist inland forests growing on tree roots and have an aboveground inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
with the overall appearance of a fungus, composed of numerous minute flowers. The inflorescences develop inside the tuberous underground part of the plant, before rupturing it and surfacing. The plants are monoecious, or dioecious, and the fruits are indehiscent drupes or nuts. The underground portion, which attaches itself to the host, looks like a tuber, and is not a proper root system. The plants contain no chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
. Balanophora means bearing an acorn (shape of the femal inflorescence).
The APG II system
APG II system
The APG II system of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...
, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system
APG system
The APG system of plant classification is the first, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was superseded in 2003 by a revision, the APG II system, and then in 2009 by a further...
, of 1998), also recognizes this family but leaves it unplaced, as to order and higher grouping. The AP-Website indicates that the family should be included in the order Santalales
Santalales
Santalales is an order of flowering plants with a cosmopolitan distribution, but heavily concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions.Most have seeds without a testa, which is unusual for flowering plants...
(post APG II), where it was also placed by the Cronquist system
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants and The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants .Cronquist's system places flowering plants into two...
(1981).
The species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Balanophora elongata is a parasite on tree roots and can be found in montane forest such as that of the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park
Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park
Mount Gede Pangrango National Park is a national park in West Java, Indonesia. The park is centred on two volcanoes—Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango— and is 150 km² in area....
in the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n province of West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
.
Genera
- Balanophora
- Chlamydophytum
- Corynaea
- Dactylanthus
- Ditepalanthus
- Exorhopala
- Hachettea
- Helosis
- Langsdorffia
- Lophophytum Schott & Endl.
- Mystropetalon
- Ombrophytum Poepp. ex Endl.
- Rhopalocnemis
- Sarcophyte
- Scybalium
- Thonningia
External links
- Balanophoraceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 2 June 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- Balanophoraceae at Parasitic plants
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser