Psittacanthus ''Psittacanthus'', also parrot-flower, is a plant genus in the family Loranthaceae. It is a type of mistletoe native from central Mexico southwards to Central America and parts of South America.Vázquez Collazo, I. & Geils, B.W. 2002. It diff ...

calyculatus'', (''erva de passerinho''), is a species of

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

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. ...

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 ...

, native to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the Mexican Gulf, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Description

''Psittacanthus calyculatus'' is hairless, with nearly terete branches. The leaves are opposite and ovate or lanceolate, having almost no petiole, and without veins. The inflorescences are terminal and in groups of three yellow to scarlet flowers which have cup-shaped bracts under them.

Life cycle

In October or November, the fruit matures, and is eaten by a bird, who voids the seed. By November, if the defecation site is a suitable branch, the seed may have infected the host, and initial buds will start to appear. Vegetative growth continues, until, four years after the initial infection, the plant flowers in November, with fruit becoming mature the following year from October to February. Thus, there are some five years required for its life-cycle.

Ecology

Vasquez Collazo and Geils (2002) report eleven observed conifer hosts for ''Psittacanthus calyculatus'': ''

Abies religiosa ''Abies religiosa'', the oyamel fir or sacred fir, (known as in Spanish) is a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur) and western Guatemala. It grows at high altitudes of ...

'', ''

Pinus douglasiana ''Pinus douglasiana'' is a species of evergreen conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in Mexico. A common name is Douglas pine, but that name is often applied to the more widespread species ''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' which is also know ...

'', '' P. lawsonii'', '' P. leiophylla'', '' P. michoacana'', '' P. pseudostrobus'', '' P. teocote'', '' P. montezumae'', '' P. herrerai'', '' P. pringlei'', and '' P. rudis''. At least nineteen bird species (

insectivores A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

omnivores An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

, and

granivores Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source,Hulme, P.E. and Benkman, C.W. (2002) "Granivory", pp. 132 ...

) have been seen feeding on the fruits.

Taxonomy

''Psittacanthus calyculatus'' was first described by

de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

in 1830 as ''Loranthus calyculatus'', and in 1834,

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

assigned it to the new genus ''

''.

Etymology

''Psittacanthos'' comes from the Greek ''psittakos'' (parrot), and the Greek ''anthos'' (flower), chosen according to Don, possibly because of the bright colours. ''Calyculatus'' is the Latin for ''provided with a calyculus'' which is a cup-like structure below the calyx, formed by a whorl of bracts

References

{{- calyculatus Flora of Mexico Flora of Venezuela Flora of Colombia Taxa named by George Don