Fourpart Mistletoe (Phoradendron dipterum)
Description
Phoradendron is a genus of mistletoes, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas. The center of diversity is the Amazon rainforest. Traditionally, the genus has been placed in the family Viscaceae, but recent genetic research acknowledged by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group shows this family to be correctly placed within a larger circumscription of the sandalwood family, Santalaceae. They are woody hemi-parasitic shrubs with branches 10–80 cm (3.9–31.5 in) long, which grow on other trees. The foliage is dichotomously branching, with opposite pairs of leaves; these are fairly large, 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) long, green and photosynthetic in some species (e.g. P. leucarpum), but minimal in some others (e.g. P. californicum). Although they are able to photosynthesize the plant relies on its host for some nutrients. The plant draws its mineral and water needs, and some of its energy needs, from the host tree using a haustorium which grows into the stems of the host. The genus name Phoradendron is derived from the Greek for "tree thief". The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) diameter. The fruit is a berry, white, yellow, orange, or red when mature, containing several seeds embedded in very sticky juice. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the fruit and remove the sticky seeds from their bills by wiping them on tree branches where they can germinate. The foliage and berries of some species are toxic. Leafy mistletoes seldom kill but they cause stress reducing crop productions in fruits and nut trees.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Santalales
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Family: Santalaceae
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Genus: Phoradendron
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