Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
Order LXXII. LoranthaceÆ
Order LXXII. LoranthaceÆ.
Parasitic shrubs. Leaves opposite or alternate, simple and entire, coriaceous, sometimes reduced to scales or wanting; stipules absent. Flowers regular, hermaphrodite or unisexual, axillary or terminal, solitary or in racemes or spikes or fascicles, usually with a bract on each pedicel and 2 bracteoles below each flower. Perianth double, outer adnate to the ovary, limb short or barely evident, truncate or 4–6-toothed; inner 3–6-lobed, lobes free or united into a tube, valvate. Stamens as many as the divisions of the perianth, usually inserted on them; filaments short or long; anthers introrse, 2-celled. Ovary inferior, 1-celled; style short or long; stigma simple; ovule solitary, erect, adnate to the walls of the ovary. Fruit a 1-seeded berry or drupe, pericarp usually viscid. Seed generally albuminous; embryo straight, axile, radicle superior.
An order comprising 13 genera and about 500 species, chiefly found in the tropical or warm regions of both hemispheres, with comparatively few species in the temperate zones. The order has no important properties or economic value, and the common mistletoe is the only species of any repute. Of the 3 New Zealand genera, Tupeia is endemic; the remaining two are widely distributed in both temperate and tropical climates.
Leafy. Flowers hermaphrodite. Perianth double. Anthers opening lengthwise 1. Loranthus. Leafy. Flowers diœcious. Perianth single. Anthers on slender filaments, opening lengthwise 2. Tupeia. The New Zealand species leafless. Flowers diœcious. Perianth single Anthers sessile, opening by several pores 3. Viscum.
1. Loranthus, Linn.
Parasitic shrubs. Leaves opposite or rarely alternate, entire, coriaceous. Flowers hermaphrodite, often highly coloured, yellow or orange or red, rarely white or greenish, in axillary racemes or cymes, rarely solitary. Perianth double; outer (calyx) adnate to the ovary; limb short, truncate or 4–6-toothed; inner (corolla) tubular, of 4–6 free or more or less connate petals, their tips ultimately spreading or reflexed. Stamens as many as the petals and inserted on them; filaments distinct; anthers adnate or versatile. Ovary inferior; style filiform; stigma terminal. Fruit a berry.
A large genus of about 350 species, abundant in the tropics, but rare in temperate regions. The New Zealand species are all endemic.
A. Anthers continuous with the filament, not versatile. * Petals free to the base. Flowers small, greenish, ⅛ in. long, in small trichotomous panicles 1. L. micranthus. Flowers 1 in. long, axillary, solitary or 2–4 together 2. L. tetrapetalus. Flowers 1½–2 in. long, in 3–9-flowered racemes 3. L. Colensoi. ** Petals united to the middle or nearly so (sometimes dorsally split to the base in L. Adamsii). Flowers 1½–2 in. long, 2 to 4 at the top of a short axillary peduncle 4. L. Adamsii. Flowers ½–¾ in. long, in 10–15-flowered racemes 5. L. flavidus, B. Anthers not continuous with the filament, versatile. Flowers 1 in. long, in axillary trichotomous panicles 6. L. tenuiflorus.
2. Tupeia, Cham. et. Schl.
A parasitic shrub; branches terete, jointed. Leaves opposite or alternate, flat, broad or narrow. Flowers diœcious, in small axillary and terminal panicles. Perianth-tube of the male flowers very small, of the female flowers adnate to the ovary; limb 4-partite, rarely 5-partite. Stamens in the male flowers affixed to the base of the segments; filaments long, filiform; anthers ovate-oblong. Ovary in the female flowers inferior, ovoid; style short and thick; stigma obtuse. Fruit a subglobose 1-seeded berry; mesocarp succulent and viscid. Seed globose; albumen, copious, fleshy; embryo almost terete.
The genus is limited to a single species, endemic in New Zealand.
1. | T. antarctica, C'ham. and Schl. in Linncza, iii. (1828) 203.— A small branching shrub 2–3 ft. high; bark pale; branchlets finely pubescent. Leaves very variable in size and shape, ½–2½ in. long, from broad ovate-rhomboid to elliptic- or oblong-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, narrowed into short petioles, pale-green, rather thin; veins faint but evident, anastomosing. Panicles shorter than the leaves, 6–12-fiowered; peduncles and pedicels slender, pubescent-Flowers small, ⅙ in. diam., greenish-yellow, often very abundantly produced. Segments of the male perianth linear-oblong or oblong-spathulate, of the female narrower and more acute. Stigma large, globular, obscurely lobed. Berry about ¼ in. diam., white or pink spotted with darker pink, pulp extremely viscid.— Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 101, t. 26; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 108. T. Cunninghamii,. Miq. in Linncea, xviii. (1844) 85. T. pubigera, Miq. l.c. 86. T. undulata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvi. (1884) 329. Viscum antarcticum, Forst. Prodr. n. 370; A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 269; Raoul, Choix, 42. V. pubigerum, A. Cunn. Precur. n. 484. North and South Islands: Not uncommon in wooded districts throughout. Sea-level to 3000 ft. Pirita. October–December. A most variable plant. Parasitic on Panax, Pittosporum, Carpodetus, Melicope, Myrsine, &c, and occasionally on Loranthus tetrapetalus and L. micranthus. |
3. Viscum, Linn.
Parasitic shrubs; branches opposite, often dichotomous. Leaves-opposite or none. Flowers diœcious or monœcious, very small, solitary or fascicled in the axils of the leaves or at the nodes of the branches, rarely terminal. Perianth-tube of the male flowers very short and solid, of the females adnate to the ovary; limb 3–4-partite. Anthers as many as the perianth-segments and sessile on them, broadly ovate or oblong, opening by pores on the inner side. Ovary inferior; stigma large, pulvinate, sessile or nearly so. Fruit a 1-seeded berry, usually crowned by the remains of the perianth-segments; mesocarp succulent and viscid. Albumen copious, fleshy; embryos 1 or 2 in each seed.
About 30 species are known, widely spread through the tropical and temperate regions of the Old World.
Joints flat, broadly obovate, ⅕–½ in. long, ⅛–⅓ in. broad. Flowers spicate, the spikes in lateral pairs and 1–3 terminal 1. V. Lindsayi. Joints flat, linear-spathulate, ¼–½ in. long, 1/20–⅛ in. broad. Flowers spicate, the spikes always solitary 2. V. clavatum. Joints terete, 1/10–⅓ in. long, 1/25 in. broad. Flowers sessile, in whorls between the joints 3, V. salicornioides.