Pilostyles thurberi

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Pilostyles thurberi
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Apodanthaceae
Genus: Pilostyles
Species:
P. thurberi
Binomial name
Pilostyles thurberi

Pilostyles thurberi is a species of flowering plant known by the common names Thurber's stemsucker[1] and Thurber's pilostyles. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in desert and woodland. In the United States, P. thurberi has been recorded from the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas.[2][3][4]

It is a tiny parasitic plant, only a few millimeters long, which lives in the stem tissues of its host plants, species of legume shrubs, often of genus Psorothamnus, especially Emory's indigo bush or dyebush (Psorothamnus emoryi). It has no roots, leaves, or chlorophyll, obtaining its water and nutrients from the host.[5] It grows completely within its host until it blooms, sending tiny flowers through the surface of the host plant.

It is dioecious, with male and female individuals producing one type of flower each. Both types are brown or maroon and no more than 2 millimeters across, appearing as specks on the stem of the host plant.[5] The bloom usually occurs in January, but sometimes as early as November.[5] The female flower swells slightly as the fruit capsule develops within, and each may hold over 100 seeds, which are minute.[5]

The plant was named by the botanist Asa Gray in honor of George Thurber, another botanist who once worked for the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "Pilostyles thurberi". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  2. ^ Yatskievych, George (1994). "Rafflesiaceae Rafflesia Family". Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science. 27 (2): 239–239. ISSN 0193-8509.
  3. ^ "Pilostyles thurberi". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  4. ^ "Pilostyles thurberi in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Armstrong, W. Southern California's Most Unusual Wildflower
  6. ^ "Shinners and Mahlers' Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Online". Botanical Research Institute of Texas and the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. p. 914. Retrieved 2021-08-25.

External links[]


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