Voyria
![]() | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2015) |
Voyria | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae
|
(unranked): | Angiosperms
|
(unranked): | |
(unranked): | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | Voyria |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
Leiphaimos Schltdl. & Cham. |
Voyria, commonly known as ghostplants,[1] is a genus of 20 species[2] of herbaceous perennial plants, belonging to the family Gentianaceae. They are mostly native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Caribbean, Central America and South America, except for , which is found in West and Central Africa. reaches as far north as the Everglades in Florida.
Unlike most plants, they do not contain chlorophyll; they are myco-heterotrophs, getting their food through parasitism upon fungi rather than photosynthesis. Their roots are thick and densely clustered, forming a "birds nest" that house their fungus host. Depending on the species, the flowers can be single or held in corymbs of many individual flowers. The stems are usually pallid, with reduced scale-like foliage. The flowers can vary in colour, with white or yellow predominating, and blue and pink also occurring. Like all myco-heterotrophs, they are capable of living in very dark conditions, such as the floor of deep forests, because they no longer derive energy from sunlight.
Voyria is subdivided into two subgenera, Voyria and Leiphaimos. The latter, which contains a majority of the species, is characterized by highly reduced features, lacking both stomates and a continuous vascular cylinder. The lack of chloroplast genes has caused some difficulty in better understanding its relationships within the family. Seeds are dispersed by wind.[3]
Species list[]
- Benth. - Venezuela, Brazil
- E.F.Guim., T.S.Mendes & N.G.Silva - Pará
- (Jacq.) Pers. - Caribbean, Mexico to Brazil
- Splitg. - Lesser Antilles, Panama to Brazil
- Aubl. - Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil
- Benth. - Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil
- Splitg. - Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil
- Splitg. - Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil
- Y.Guillén & G.Vargas - N Costa Rica
- Griseb. - Mexico to Brazil, Trinidad
- (Suess.) Ruyters & Maas - Costa Rica, Panama
- Progel - Atlantic Forest of Brazil
- (Schltdl. & Cham.) Ruyters & Maas - Central America, Caribbean, S Florida
- Baker - Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo Republic
- (Standl.) L.O.Williams - Panama
- Aubl. - Venezuela and the Guianas
- Benth. - Costa Rica to Brazil
- Guilding ex Hook. - Caribbean, Mexico to Brazil
- Griseb. - Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil
- (Standl.) Standl. & Steyerm. - Chiapas to Colombia
References[]
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Voyria". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Voyria Aubl. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
- ^ Albert, Victor A.; Struwe, Lena (October 1997). "Phylogeny and Classification of Voyria (saprophytic Gentianaceae)". Brittonia. 49 (4): 466. doi:10.2307/2807736. ISSN 0007-196X. JSTOR 2807736.
- Gentianaceae
- Parasitic plants
- Flora of North America
- Gentianaceae genera
- Flora of South America
- Flora of Africa
- Flora of the Caribbean
- Flora of Mexico
- Flora of Central America