Monotropastrum is a small genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of myco-heterotrophic

Myco-heterotrophy

Myco-heterotrophy is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon fungi rather than from photosynthesis. A myco-heterotroph is the parasitic plant partner in this relationship...

 plants in the heath family (Ericaceae

Ericaceae

The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...

). As currently circumscribed the group includes two species.

Distribution

The genus is found locally throughout much of southern and eastern Asia (Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Sikkim, Thailand, and Vietnam).

Taxonomy

Based on morphological and molecular analyses, Monotropastrum has been placed in the Ericaceae

Ericaceae

The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...

subfamily Monotropoideae, and the tribe Monotropeae.

List of Species

1. Monotropastrum humile (D.Don) H.Hara
2. Monotropastrum sciaphilum (Andres) G.D. Wallace

External Links

• Monotropastrum at The Plant List
• Monotropastrum at the Encyclopedia of Life
• Monotropastrum at the online Flora of China