Agelanthus pungu

Blue-leaved mistletoe
Flowers and foliage, northern Zimbabwe
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Santalales
Family:	Loranthaceae
Genus:	Agelanthus
Species:	A. pungu
Binomial name
Agelanthus pungu (De Wild.) Polhill & Wiens
Synonyms
Loranthus punguDe Wild. Tapinanthus pungu(De Wild.) Danser Loranthus blantyreanusEngl. Loranthus bulawayensisEngl. Loranthus carsoniiBaker & Sprague Loranthus ceciliaeN.E.Br. Loranthus ceciliae var. buchananiiSprague Loranthus giorgiiBalle Loranthus glaucescensEngl. & K.Krause Loranthus luteiflorusEngl. & K.Krause Loranthus pungu var. angustifoliusDe Wild. Tapinanthus blantyreanus(Engl.) Danser Tapinanthus bulawayensis(Engl.) Danser Tapinanthus carsonii(Baker & Sprague) Danser Tapinanthus ceciliae(N.E.Br.) Danser Tapinanthus glaucescens(Engl. & K.Krause) Danser Tapinanthus luteiflorus(Engl. & K.Krause) Danser

The blue-leaved mistletoe ( Agelanthus pungu) is a species of perennial, parasitic plant in the family Loranthaceae, which is native to the southeastern Afrotropics.

Description

Its size is variable, as is the shape of its leaves. The glabrous and opposite leaves are grey-green to blue-green in colour. ^[1] A fuller description is given at Govaerts et al. (2018) ^[2]

Range

A. pungu has been recorded in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, northeastern Namibia and northern South Africa. It is found from 150 to 2,100 meters in altitude. ^[1]

Habitat

It grows on a range of host plants in miombo woodland, Acacia - Commiphora bushland, wooded grassland, forest edges and in riparian growth. ^[1]

References

1. "Agelanthus pungu (De Wild.) Polhill & Wiens". African Plant Database. Jardin botaniques & SANBI. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
2. Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. "Agelanthus pungu". in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed 4 April 2018.

External links

• Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Agelanthus pungu". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
• Media related to Agelanthus pungu at Wikimedia Commons