The blue-leaved mistletoe (''
Agelanthus pungu'') is a species of perennial, parasitic
plant in the family
Loranthaceae
Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are ''Nuytsia floribunda'' (the W ...
, which is native to the southeastern
Afrotropics
The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...
.
Description
Its size is variable, as is the shape of its leaves. The glabrous and opposite leaves are grey-green to blue-green in colour.
A fuller description is given a
Govaerts ''et al.'' (2018)ref name=Govaerts/>
Range
''
A. pungu'' has been recorded in
Tanzania,
Zambia,
Malawi,
Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, northeastern
Namibia and northern
South Africa. It is found from 150 to 2,100 meters in altitude.
Habitat
It grows on a range of host plants in
miombo woodland, ''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
''-''
Commiphora'' bushland, wooded grassland, forest edges and in riparian growth.
References
External links
*
pungu
Taxa named by Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman
{{Santalales-stub