'' Korthalsella emersa '' is a

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

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

, formerly placed in the

Viscaceae Viscaceae is a taxonomic family name of flowering plants. In this circumscription, the family includes the several genera of mistletoes. This family name is currently being studied and under review as in past decades, several systems of plant taxon ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

alludes to the immersion of the flowers in the floral cushion. Data derived from ''Flora of Australia'', Volume 49 (1994).

Description

It is a

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

growing to 150 mm tall. There are up to 30 flowers in a cluster, immersed in a floral cushion with black-tipped hairs. The oval fruits are about 1.5 mm long.

Distribution and habitat

The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

’s

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

. Its closest relative may be ''

Korthalsella disticha ''Korthalsella'' (korthal mistletoe) is a genus of flowering plants in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae (sometimes/formerly considered to be in Viscaceae). It contains about 25 species distributed in Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and s ...

'' of

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. Recorded host species include ''

Elaeodendron curtipendulum ''Elaeodendron'' is a genus of flowering plants in the staff vine family, Celastraceae. Selected species * ''Elaeodendron australe'' Vent. * '' Elaeodendron croceum'' (Thunb.) DC. * ''Elaeodendron curtipendulum'' Endl. * ''Elaeodendron glaucum'' ...

'' and ''

Jasminum simplicifolium Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

''.

References

Santalaceae Endemic flora of Lord Howe Island Parasitic plants Plants described in 1983 emersa Taxa named by Bryan Alwyn Barlow {{Santalales-stub