''Cytinus visseri'', commonly known as the Northern vampire cup, is a holoparasitic

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Cytinaceae Cytinaceae is a family of parasitic flowering plants. It comprises two genera, ''Cytinus'' and ''Bdallophytum'', totalling ten species. These two genera were formerly placed in the family Rafflesiaceae, order Malpighiales. When they were separat ...

. This flower favorably interacts with another plant, '' Helichrysum reflexum'', that is a woody shrub in South Africa.

Etymology

This flower was first discovered by Johann Visser but he was unable to name it himself due to his untimely passing. But after recognition of his discovery, the species was officially named after him by Prix Burgoyne.

Description

Distribution

''Cytinus visseri'' is native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. This flower is seen in the areas of rocky outcrops in

Long Tom Pass Long Tom Pass is a mountain pass on the Great Escarpment situated in the Mpumalanga province, on the R37 regional route between Lydenburg and Sabie (South Africa). It is named after the Long Tom cannon. Route The route up Long Tom Pass st ...

Mpumalanga province Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

Limpopo province Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while th ...

, and

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

Habitat and ecology

''Cytinus visseri'' is an erect, perennial, and a

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

species. It lacks a true root system but forms endophytic cells to attach to the host and burst out of the host's primordium, bearing red flowers at its tip. They can grow up to 30-120mm high with a seed size of 0.2 – 0.4 mm long. The members of ''Cytinus'' are not host-specific parasites and are seen to favorably interact with members from the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. However the flower may interact with other woody shrub taxa. ''C. visseri'' often interacts with ''H. reflexum'', a plant that belongs to Asteraceae. When ''H. reflexum'' is infected, it is rarely seen that more than one ''C. visseri'' infects the same host plant. They are commonly located under the dense canopy of the host where it synchronizes with the host's flowering period.

Pollination and seed dispersal

The method of pollination is by using scent cues to lure mammalian ground-dwellers. Due to location, scent cues are more effective in manipulating behaviors in mammalian ground-dwellers. Mammals that assist in pollination are the elephant shrews ('' Elephantulus brachyrhynchus''), the striped field mouse (''

Rhabdomys pumilio The four-striped grass mouse (''Rhabdomys pumilio'') or four-striped grass rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found throughout the southern half of Africa up to above sea level, extending as far north as the Democratic Rep ...

''), and the Pygmy mouse ('' Mus minutoides''). The scent is chemically derived into two substances: 1-hexen-3-one and 3-hexaone. The first substance is used primarily to attract the pollinators. The latter is a strong repellant but when both substances are released, the net effect attracts the mammals. The method of seed dispersal is through mammalian locomotion and fecal disposal. Lizards have also been observed to assist this flower in seed dispersal.

References

External links

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/plants/cytinaceae/cytinus_visseri.htm

http://www.ispot.org.za/node/141116
# {{Taxonbar, from=Q15610142 Parasitic plants Cytinaceae Dioecious plants