''Arceuthobium minutissimum'', known as the Indian dwarf mistletoe or Himalayan dwarf mistletoe, is a leafless

parasitic plant A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the ...

of ''

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

''. It is considered the smallest known

dicotyledonous The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, t ...

plant.

Description

Individual shoots grow to a height of 5 millimeters, and up to 1 centimeter with mature fruit. Shoots emerge from both the

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

and needles of the host plant. Flowers are monoecious, and seed dispersal occurs in September.

Distribution and host species

The species occurs in dry forests of the

Himalayan mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

at an approximate altitude of 2500–3500 meters. It has been reported in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Pakistan. ''A. minutissimum'' infects the crowns of trees of all ages. It severely impacts the health of host-trees, and causes the loss of needles. Although ''P. wallichiana'' is the primary host, it has been recorded to infect ''

Pinus gerardiana ''Pinus gerardiana'', known as the chilgoza pine or ''neja'' is a pine native to the northwestern Himalayas in Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, Waziristan and northwestern India, growing at elevations between 1800 and 3350 metres. It often occur ...

'' in Pakistan. Unconfirmed reports show that it may also infect ''

Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir or west Himalayan fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a large e ...

'' and ''

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic ...

''. It has been considered that there is potential for ''A. minutissimum'' to become an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in Europe.

References

{{Authority control minutissimum Flora of Pakistan Flora of Bhutan Flora of India (region) Flora of Nepal