Viscum minimum
{{Short description|Species of epiphyte}}
{{Expand German|Zwergmistel|date=January 2018}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Viscum minimum2 ies.jpg
|image_caption = Viscum minimum leaf scales and flowers emerging from the host plant.
|genus = Viscum
|species = minimum
|authority = Harv.
|synonyms ={{species list |Aspidixia minima|(Harv.) Tiegh.}}
}}
Viscum minimum is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae.{{cite web |url= https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:552444-1 |title= Viscum minimum Harv. |author= |date=n.d. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=November 29, 2024}}{{cite web |url= https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/5BKGT |title= Viscum minimum Harv. |author= |date=n.d. |website=Catalogue of Life |publisher=Species 2000 |access-date=November 29, 2024}} It is a parasitic plant native to South Africa.
Description
In its native habitat Viscum minimum uses two species of succulents, Euphorbia polygona and Euphorbia horrida, as host plants. However, given the opportunity, the plant uses a range of succulents, including cacti, as hosts.
A mature Viscum minimum consists mostly of haustoria within the host plant, with small stems of less than one millimeter in length each with a single whorl of 2-3 scale-like leaves. A single flower, and later a red round fruit with a diameter of 8-9 millimeters, emerges from these stems. The leaves and stems are capable of photosynthesis, making the plant technically a hemiparasite.
The Viscum minimum mitochondrial genome has been sequenced, showing an unusual loss of genes or their functions. Massive gene loss in mistletoe (Viscum, Viscaceae) mitochondria [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep17588#f1 Nature] Accessed 5.1.2018
=Seed germination=
Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag00 ies.jpg|Day 1: The sticky seed has landed on the host plant.
Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag04 ies.jpg|Day 4: Germination has commenced.
Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag10 ies.jpg|Day 10: The shoot emerges from the seed.
Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag23 ies.jpg|Day 23: The shoot has made contact with the host plant.
Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag30 ies.jpg|Day 30: The primary haustorium has developed.
Literature
- William Henry Harvey: Flora Capensis 2: 581
- Robert Allen Dyer: Two Rare Parasites on Succulent Species of Euphorbia, Euphorbia Review Vol. I (4): 29-32, 1935
- Thomas Goebel: Viscum minimum Harvey in der Sukkulentensammlung der Stadt Zürich, Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten 29 (1), 1978
- Frank K. Horwood: Two parasites of Euphorbia: Viscum minimum and Hydnora africana, The Euphorbia Journal, Vol 1: 45-48, 1983
References
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