A New Species of Hydnora (Hydnoraceae) from Southern Africa

Hydnora ­arabica (Aristolochiaceae), a new species from the Arabian Peninsula and a key to Hydnora

“…In the old-world genus Hydnora, seven species are recognized and two major lineages have been identified (Bolin et al 2011), aligning with the subgeneric sections delineated in the monograph by Harms (1935), based on their host preference and several major synapomorphies. The Euphorbia-parasitizing Hydnora species are distributed in southern Africa (sections Euhydnora Decaisne and Tricephalohydnum Harms), including Hydnora africana Thunberg (1775: 69-75), H. longicollis Welwitsch (1869: 66), Hydnora triceps Drège & Meyer (1833: 779), and H. visseri Bolin, Maass, & Musselman (2011: 255-260).…”

“…abyssinica). The apparent synonymy rife in this subgenus has much to do with the under collection of this largely subterranean plant and the poor condition of the Hydnora herbarium material as discussed in Musselman and Visser (1989) and Bolin et. al (2011).…”

Hydnora: The strangest plant in the world?

“…Hydnora has a narrow host range, and is parasitic upon the roots of host plants in the spurge (Euphorbiaceae), legume (Fabaceae), and torchwood (Burseraceae) families (Bolin et al, ; Bolin et al, ; Musselman & Visser, ). Host specificity can act as a catalyst for speciation in parasitic plants, in which cryptic species can be overlooked because of their reduced morphological features (Thorogood, Rumsey, Harris, & Hiscock, ).…”

“…This holoparasitic (non‐photosynthetic) plant, only emerges above ground to flower, can damage infrastructure by bursting through pavements (Maass & Musselman, ), and scarcely resembles any other flowering plant. Eight species of Hydnora are now recognized (Figure ), of which one ( H. visseri ) was identified in 2011 in a market, advertised as a traditional medicine, in Johannesburg (Bolin, Maass, & Musselman, ; Williams, Falcão, & Wojtasik, ), and another ( H. arabica ) was only described in 2018 (Bolin, Lupton, & Musselman, ). Their unpredictable and elusive flowering, together with their remote distributions, suggest more species await discovery.…”

Flora das cangas da Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brasil: Aristolochiaceae

“…Apresenta morfologia, formas de vida e polinização variadas o que talvez justifica a controversa inclusão de seus gêneros, como discutido anteriormente. São ervas perenes como Asarum e Saruma henryi Oliv., única espécie do gênero; trepadeiras volúveis como em Thottea; arbustos como Lactoris fernandeziana Phil., única espécie do gênero, endêmica do Arquipélago Juan Fernandez, no Chile; holoparasita como Hydnora Thunb., com seis espécies principalmente da África (Bolin et al 2011) e Prosopanche de Bary com uma espécie da América Central e três da América do Sul (Machado & Queiroz 2012); ou ervas perenes com estruturas subterrâneas de reserva (xilopódios), trepadeiras ou lianas volúveis ou pequenas arvoretas, como em Aristolochia L. As flores são geralmente isoladas, trímeras, monoclamídeas (Saruma é diclamídea), prefloração valvar, actino ou zigomorfas, estames (3-)6-12 (-30), unidos ou livres, ovário ínfero sincárpico, ou súpero sincárpico ou apocárpico, com ginostêmio ou não e fruto cápsula, folículo ou bacáceo (Griffith 1845;Hoehne 1927Hoehne , 1942González 1990González , 1997Barringer 1993;Huber 1993;Nickrent et al 2002;Shaiju & Omarakumari 2010;Bolin et al 2011;Machado & Queiroz 2012;Stevens 2001, onwards).…”