''Macrosolen parasiticus'' is a species of parasitic

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

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 ...

. It is commonly called parasite honeysuckle. It is widely distributed in tropical South and South West Indian regions especially in the Western Ghats. ''Macrosolen parasiticus'' species were described by

Danser Benedictus Hubertus Danser (May 24, 1891, Schiedam – October 18, 1943, Groningen), often abbreviated B. H. Danser, was a Dutch taxonomist and botanist. Danser specialised in the plant families Loranthaceae, Nepenthaceae, and Polygonaceae. In ...

(1938).

Description

''Macrosolen parasiticus'' is a parasitic shrub with thickened stem at nodes, like mistletoe. The oppositely arranged, ovate-lanceolate leaves have sharp tips and rounded bases. The leaf stalk (petiole) is 6–12 mm long. The flowers are few and stalkless. The peduncle carrying the spikes is up to 1 cm long. The flowers have a long, variegated, reddish flower tube, which is slightly curved. It has six, 5–6 mm long

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s which are green and turned back. The fruit is an ovoid berry, green, with persistent

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s. Flowering and fruiting occurs from December to May.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q60558846 Loranthaceae Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus