The order Lamiales are an order in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It includes about 23,810 species, 1,059 genera, and is divided into about 25 families. These families include Acanthaceae, Bignoniaceae, Byblidaceae, Calceolariaceae, Carlemanniaceae, Gesneriaceae, Lamiaceae, Lentibulariaceae, Linderniaceae, Martyniaceae, Mazaceae, Oleaceae, Orobanchaceae, Paulowniaceae, Pedaliaceae, Peltantheraceae, Phrymaceae, Plantaginaceae, Plocospermataceae, Schlegeliaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Stilbaceae, Tetrachondraceae, Thomandersiaceae, Verbenaceae.
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson characterised parasites as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". Parasites include single-celled protozoans such as the agents of malaria, sleeping sickness, and amoebic dysentery; animals such as hookworms, lice, mosquitoes, and vampire bats; fungi such as honey fungus and the agents of ringworm; and plants such as mistletoe, dodder, and the broomrapes.
Cuscuta, commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a genus of over 201 species of yellow, orange, or red parasitic plants. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it now is accepted as belonging in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, on the basis of the work of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. The genus is found throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world, with the greatest species diversity in subtropical and tropical regions; the genus becomes rare in cool temperate climates, with only four species native to northern Europe.
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, bloody stool, or blood in the urine. Those who have been infected for a long time may experience liver damage, kidney failure, infertility, or bladder cancer. In children, schistosomiasis may cause poor growth and learning difficulties.
Schistosoma is a genus of trematodes, commonly known as blood flukes. They are parasitic flatworms responsible for a highly significant group of infections in humans termed schistosomiasis, which is considered by the World Health Organization to be the second-most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease, with hundreds of millions infected worldwide.
Lygodium is a genus of about 40 species of ferns, native to tropical regions across the world, with a few temperate species in eastern Asia and eastern North America. It is the sole genus in the family Lygodiaceae in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Alternatively, the genus may be placed as the only genus in the subfamily Lygodioideae of a more broadly defined family Schizaeaceae, the family placement used in Plants of the World Online as of November 2019. Per recent molecular evidence, Lygodiaceae is thought to have diverged relatively early from the other members of the Schizaeales due to the relatively high level of synonymous sequence divergence between the families within the Schizaeales.
Cercidiphyllum is a genus containing two species of plants, both commonly called katsura. They are the sole members of the monotypic family Cercidiphyllaceae. The genus is native to Japan and China and unrelated to Cercis (redbuds).
Dicyemida, also known as Rhombozoa, is a phylum of tiny parasites that live in the renal appendages of cephalopods.
Styphnolobium is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It includes nine species of small trees and shrubs native to China and to the Americas, from the southern United States to Colombia. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae, and was formerly included within a broader interpretation of the genus Sophora. It was recently assigned to the unranked, monophyletic Cladrastis clade. They differ from the genus Calia (mescalbeans) in having deciduous leaves and flowers in axillary, not terminal, racemes. The leaves are pinnate, with 9–21 leaflets, and the flowers in pendulous racemes similar to those of the black locust. Necklacepod is a common name for plants in this genus.
Rehmannia is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the order Lamiales and family Orobanchaceae, endemic to China. It has been placed as the only member of the monotypic tribe Rehmannieae, but molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that it forms a clade with Triaenophora. Contrary to the immense majority of the taxa of Orobanchaceae, Rehmannia is not parasitic.
The Rafflesiaceae are a family of rare parasitic plants comprising 36 species in 3 genera found in the tropical forests of east and southeast Asia, including Rafflesia arnoldii, which has the largest flowers of all plants. The plants are endoparasites of vines in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae) and lack stems, leaves, roots, and any photosynthetic tissue. They rely entirely on their host plants for both water and nutrients, and only then emerge as flowers from the roots or lower stems of the host plants.
A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host plant, connecting them to the host vasculature – either the xylem, phloem, or both. For example, plants like Striga or Rhinanthus connect only to the xylem, via xylem bridges (xylem-feeding). Alternately, plants like Cuscuta and some members of Orobanche connect to both the xylem and phloem of the host. This provides them with the ability to extract resources from the host. These resources can include water, nitrogen, carbon and/or sugars. Parasitic plants are classified depending on the location where the parasitic plant latches onto the host, the amount of nutrients it requires, and their photosynthetic capability. Some parasitic plants can locate their host plants by detecting volatile chemicals in the air or soil given off by host shoots or roots, respectively. About 4,500 species of parasitic plants in approximately 20 families of flowering plants are known.
Ligustrum japonicum, known as wax-leaf privet or Japanese privet is a species of Ligustrum (privet) native to central and southern Japan and Korea. It is widely cultivated in other regions, and is naturalized in California and in the southeastern United States from Texas to Virginia.
Peucedanum is a genus of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. Peucedanum boasts a global presence with diverse spread of morphological features. Peucedanum species are characterized by dorsally compressed mericarps, slightly prominent dorsal ribs, narrowly winged lateral ribs, and a broad commissure. However, the vast diversity of morphology, fruit forms, and phytochemical production makes classifying species in the Peucedanum challenging. Historically relevant in traditional medicine, Peucedanum's taxonomic complexity arises from its extensive diversity.
The Echinodontiaceae are a family of crust fungi in the order Russulales. Species of this family, divided amongst two genera—Echinodontium and Laurilia—have a widespread distribution, although they are especially predominant in north temperate zones. They are parasitic or saprobic on wood, and may cause white rot of angiosperms and gymnosperms.
Bradyrhizobium japonicum is a species of legume-root nodulating, microsymbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The species is one of many Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria commonly referred to as rhizobia. Within that broad classification, which has three groups, taxonomy studies using DNA sequencing indicate that B. japonicum belongs within homology group II.
Nuphar japonica, known as East Asian yellow water-lily, is an aquatic plant species in the genus Nuphar found in Japan and the Korean Peninsula. It is endangered in Russia. The species was not accepted by The Plant List as of November 2013, which regarded it as an "unresolved name".
Trichogramma japonicum is a minute wasp parasitoid from the Trichogrammatidae family in the order Hymenoptera. T. japonicum parasitizes the eggs of many pest species, especially Lepidoptera found in many monocultures. They are entomophagous parasitoids that deposit their eggs inside the host species' egg, consuming the host egg material and emerging from the egg once development is complete. T. japonicum can be found naturally in rice ecosystems, but are dispersed commercially to many monocultures as a biological control. The mitochondrial genomes of T. japonicum are significantly rearranged when comparing it to related insects.
Hypericum japonicum, known as matted St. John's-wort, is an annual herbaceous flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae, in Hypericum sect. Trigynobrathys.
Cirsium japonicum var. japonicum is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a perennial thistle native to Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It is a variety of Cirsium japonicum, and is known by many synonyms. In Chinese it is known as the Yushan thistle, named for Yushan mountain on Taiwan.
