66 
A LITTLE KNOWN PARASITIC FLOWERING PLANT 
By J. H. SIMMONDS 
Balanophora fungosa Forst. is an inconspicuous 
parasitic flowering plant which is not uncommon in 
Queensland coastal rain forests as far south as Gympie. 
The family to which it belongs is represented by a num- 
ber of species found cbieflv in the tropics of the Old 
World. The Queensland speeies occurs also in the New 
Hebrides, New Caledonia and Fiji. 
The plant consists of a tuberous base from which 
arise short stalks bearing imbricate waxy scales, creamy 
in colour when fresh but becoming brown to black with 
age. At the apex of the stalk are borne the flowers and 
these consist of separate male and female individuals. 
The female are minute, simple in structure and are 
borne in great numbers on a globular terminal bead. 
Between this and the scales the small male flowers are 
loosely clustered round the upper part of the stalk. The 
plant varies considerably in height and robustness but is 
seldom greater than nine inches high and is usually 
several inches less. Forms resembling both B. fungosa 
Forgt. and forma extra! ropica Bail, may occur in the one 
locality at the one time. 
B. fungosa is capable of parasitising trees through 
their roots. In Queensland it has been recorded on 
Ficus sp.. Acacia sp. and the two hosts mentioned below. 
The tuberous base of the parasite is almost completely 
below soil level and envelopes the root of the host and 
the distal portion of the root may then die. Intimate union 
is effected by interlocking tongues of tissue along the 
edges of which cells belonging to one and the other be- 
come fused. In the case of parasitism of the papaw, 
the host apears to lay down a cork layer along the line 
of union as the Balanophora ages. 
Normally the hosts of Balanophora are such that the 
parasite is of no economic importance. However, during 
11)48 B. fungosa was found attacking papaw ( Carica 
papaya L.) and it is with the object of describing this 
unexpected occurrence that this note is written. The 
area affected was a plantation of about three acres 
