''Gymnosiphon'' (yellowseed) is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants from the yam order. Like most of the other members of the family in which the plant is placed (

Burmanniaceae Burmanniaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, consisting of 99 species of herbaceous plants in eight genera. Description These plants are annual or perennial herbs, with generally unbranched stems, some lacking leaves. Some m ...

), ''Gymnosiphon'' is entirely myco-heterotrophic genus that does not contain

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...

and respectively does not perform

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

. ''Gymnosiphon'' is distributed across the moist, tropical regions of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The plant has very small size and thin stems. Leaves are rudimentary and with appearance like scales or

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. Its flowers are white in color, pale and solitary or sometimes collected in tiny

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s of few depending on the species. They are also actinomorphic with three larger outer tepals and three more inner and smaller ones. Phylogenetically ''Gymnosiphon'' is placed in the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

''sensu stricto''. ; Species

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q147406 Burmanniaceae Dioscoreales genera Parasitic plants