548 XCVI. LORANTHACE^I [Loranthus 



ing. Fl. regular 1- or 2-sexual, perianth simple or double. Stamens equal to 

 and opposite the petals or perianth-lobes, usually inserted on them. Ovary- 

 inferior, 1-celled, ovule 1, adnate all round to the walls of the ovary, which 

 thus on a section presents a homogeneous appearance. Fruit a berry or drupe f 

 usually viscid, seed adnate to pericarp, albumen fleshy, embryo straight, 

 radicle superior. 



The species here described in reality are half parasites, taking up carbon dioxide 

 through their green leaves and branchlets, but relying upon the foster plant, on 

 which they grow, for mineral and nitrogenous substances. "When the seeds of a 

 Loranthus or Viscum germinate on the bark of a tree, the roots penetrate through the 

 bark to the wood, where they spread and are gradually enclosed, by the new layers 

 of wood. The roots of the parasites thus embedded decay readily, and hence the wood 

 of the foster tree becomes riddled and worthless. Some species of Loranthus also send 

 out aerial roots, which twist round the branches of the foster plant. 

 Flowers bisexual, showy, petals 4-6, linear, usually more or 



less connate 1. Loranthus. 



Flowers unisexual, inconspicuous. 



Anthers with many cells, dehiscing by numerous pores . 2. Viscum. 

 Anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits, leaves flat . . Gixalloa (p. 552). 



Anthers globose, bursting transversly, 1. reduced to 

 minute scales ......... 3. Arceuthobium. 



1. LORANTHUS, Linn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. v. 203. 



L. opposite, in some sp. both alternate and opposite, in some alternate. FL 

 as a rule supported by a small concave bract, appressed to calyx, bisexual, 

 usually large, showy. Calyx adnate to ovary, and often produced beyond it, 

 regarded by some Botanists as the enlarged end of the axis (Engler u. Prantl 

 iii. i. 169), petals 4-6, free or more or less connate into a tubular corolla, 

 tips often reflexed, stamens inserted on the petals. Species about 300, 

 Tropical Asia, Africa and Australia. 



Vern. names used indiscriminately for several species: Bana, Banda, Pand, Hind. ; 

 Manda, Beng. ; Vanda, Mar. ; Banje, Banduka^TLan.:, Bajinike, Tel.; Kyibaung, Bunn. 



I. No bracteoles, no involucral bracts. 



A. Entirely glabrous, petals free mostly 6. 



1. L. odoratus, Wall. Nepal. Darjeeling (7,000 ft.). Chumbi valley. Khasi hills. 

 Cachar. Hani pur. Shan hills, Upper Burma, 5,000 ft. — Syn. L. Hemsleyanus, King 

 Journ. Linn. Soc. xxviii. 120. L. fleshy, mostly opposite, elliptic-lanceolate, blade 3-5, 

 pet. §-J in. long. Fl. J-J in., sessile, on spikes 1-2 in. long, calyx produced beyond 

 the ovary, truncate, petals 6, free, spathulate. 2. L. heteranthus, Wall. — Syn. L. 

 eleutheropetaliis, Kurz. Southern slopes. of the Pegu Yoma. — Java, Borneo. L. oppo- 

 site or nearly so, thickly coriaceous and veinless, blade 3-5, tapering into pet. §-J in. 

 long. Fl. 1J in. long, in racemes 3-4 in., pedicels J in., calyx tubular J in. long, 

 limb truncate. 



B. Petals more or less connate into a 4- or 5-lobed corolla. Fl. small, 

 under 1 in., in racemes or spikes. 



(a) Racemes or spikes many-fld., glabrous. 



3. L. Wallichianus, Schultes. Wight Ic. t. 143. Western Ghats from the Konkan 

 southwards. Entirely glabrous, 1. elliptic, blade 3-4, pet. § in. long. Fl. J in., pale 

 red, racemes 1-3 in. long. Calyx hardly produced beyond ovary, corolla deeply 4-cleft, 

 buds cylindric. 4. L. intermedius, Wight. Nilgiris and other hills of the Peninsula. 

 Similar to 3 but fl. larger, ^-§ in. long. 5. L. obtusatus, Wall. Western Ghats from 

 Mahabaleshwar southwards. Pet. J-J irk, fl. J-l in. long, buds clavate, 4-angled. Calyx 

 not produced beyond ovary. 



6. L. pentapetalus, Roxb. ; Wall. PI. As. Ear. t. 225. Nepal. Sikkim 4-8,000 ft. 

 common. Assam. Cachar. Burma, Upper and Lower. Yunnan. Siam. Malay 

 Peninsula and Archipelago. Quite glabrous. L. usually opposite, coriaceous, blade 

 2-4, pet. \— I in. Spikes crimson, solitary or in pairs, axillary, erect, 3-6 in. long, fl. 

 J in. 4-5-merous, calyx-limb obscurely toothed, base of corolla much inflated, almost 

 globose. Style jointed in the middle, lower part angular and verrucose, fr. ellipsoid, 

 i in. long. 7. L. Parishii, Hook. f. Donat range, Tenasserim 2,000 ft. Branches stout, 1. 

 very coriaceous, narrow-lanceolate, blade 6-7, pet. stout, \ in. long, sec n. obscure, 

 spikes strict erect, rachis stout, fl. bright scarlet | in. long. 



