Loranthaceae

Family: Loranthaceae

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core eudicots > Order: Santalales

Parasitic plants with green leaves that anchor themselves to the host plant with suckers that are thought to be modified adventitious roots.Native mainly to tropical and south temperate regions of the World. There are about 68 genera and 950 species, with 16 genera and about 60 species native to southern Africa.

Genera native to southern Africa

Actinanthella Two species, endemic to southeastern and southern Africa, with both, Actinanthella menyharthii (recorded from Zimbabwe) and Actinanthella wyliei, native to southern Africa.
Agelanthus Fifty-nine species, native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with 20 native to southern Africa.
Englerina Twenty-five species worldwide (tropical Africa), of which five are native to southern Africa.
Erianthemum Sixteen species, native to central and southern Africa, with four species native to southern Africa.
Globimetula Thirteen species worldwide, of which one Globimetula mweroensis is native to southern Africa (Zimbabwe and Mozambique). See Flora of Zimbabwe.
Helixanthera About 45 species, native to Africa and tropical Asia, with two species native to southern Africa, namely Helixanthera garciana and Helixanthera woodii.
Moquiniella A single species, Moquiniella rubra, native to the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
Oliverella Three species, native to eastern and south-central Africa, with one, Oliverella rubroviridis, native to southern Africa (Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique).
Oncocalyx About 13 species, native mainly to arid regions of tropical Africa, with three species native to southern Africa.
Pedistylis One species, Pedistylis galpinii, endemic to the Mpumalanga lowveld and adjoining areas of Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Phragmanthera About 34 species, distributed over tropical Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with six species native to southern Africa.
Plicosepalus About 12 species, native to arid regions of Africa, with three species native to southern Africa.
Septulina Two species, native to Namibia, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
Spragueanella One species native to southern Africa - Spragueanella rhamnifolia (recorded from Zimbabwe).
Tapinanthus About 30 species, distributed in the African tropics and subtropics, with seven species native to southern Africa.
Vanwykia A single species, Vanwykia remota (see Flora of Zimbabwe), found in the extreme northeast of the Kruger National Park, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.