Viscum capense

Viscum capense (common name, Cape mistletoe) is a species of Mistletoe that is indigenous to South Africa, especially the area from Cape Town, northwards along the coast up to Namibia, and eastwards as far as the Eastern Cape province.

Viscum capense
Viscum capense showing its tangled habit in a typical host tree
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Santalaceae
Genus: Viscum
Species:
V. capense
Binomial name
Viscum capense
L.f.
Viscum capense has an angled mode of branching that causes its tangled growth habit. The result is ecologically important because it offers shelter to various organisms. As shown here, the flowers are greenish yellow

This parasitic plant has jointed stems, vestigial leaves in the form of small scales around the stem nodes, and tiny yellowish-green flowers that produce translucent pale berries. The fruit is dispersed by birds. The plant is poisonous but is nonetheless used in traditional African medicine, the plant being boiled to make a tea that is used to soothe asthma.[1][2] It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.[3]

References
  1. "Viscum capense". 24 September 2007.
  2. Amabeoku, G.J; Leng, M.J; Syce, J.A (1998). "Antimicrobial and anticonvulsant activities of Viscum capense". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 61 (3): 237–241. doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(98)00054-3. PMID 9705015.
  3. Maul, Karola; Krug, Michael; Nickrent, Daniel L.; Müller, Kai F.; Quandt, Dietmar; Wicke, Susann (2019). "Morphology, geographic distribution, and host preferences are poor predictors of phylogenetic relatedness in the mistletoe genus Viscum L". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 131: 106–115. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.041. PMID 30399429. S2CID 53230419.
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