| Tapinanthus bangwensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Santalales |
| Family: | Loranthaceae |
| Genus: | Tapinanthus |
| Species: | T. bangwensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Tapinanthus bangwensis (Engl. & K.Krause) Danser | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Tapinanthus bangwensis is a species of hemiparasitic plant in the family Loranthaceae, which is native to the tropics of western sub-Saharan Africa.
It is native to the forest region from Senegal to Liberia and Sierra Leone. [2]
It is a woody aerial shrub that is attached to its host plant by haustoria. It has a pendulous stem of up to 2 meters long, and the branchlets are abundantly covered with brown lenticels. [2]
The leaves are geographically variable in size and thickness. [2] They are reduced in Senegal, but larger southwards. The perianth tube is red at the bottom, becoming pink in the middle, and grey at the lobes. The filaments and style are initially green, but turn purple. [2]
Its tricolporate pollen grain is oblate-spheroidal and rather large (40 x 43.5 µm) with its amb a truncated triangle, not unlike that of T. cordifolius .[ citation needed ]
It parasitizes many plant species. These include Acacia farnesiana , A. nilotica , Alchornea cordifolia , Cola nitida , Coffea liberica , Crossopteryx , Croton , Machaerium , Manihot , Terminalia catappa and Theobroma . [2]
In Ghana the leaves are used to treat guinea worm infection, while in Nigeria, the leaves are used to treat various disorders including cancer and liver ailments. In Senegal the plant is used with Gardenia tricantha (Rubiaceae) for the treatment of leprosy. [3]
Flavonoids, lectins, polypeptides, triterpenes and polyphenolic compounds have been reported in the plant. [4] Phlobotannins, alkaloids, anthraquinones, besides cardiac and steroidal glycosides have also been reported. [5]
Quassia is a plant genus in the family Simaroubaceae. Its size is disputed; some botanists treat it as consisting of only one species, Quassia amara from tropical South America, while others treat it in a wide circumscription as a pantropical genus containing up to 40 species of trees and shrubs. The genus was named after a former slave from Suriname, Graman Quassi in the eighteenth century. He discovered the medicinal properties of the bark of Quassia amara.
Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are Nuytsia floribunda, Atkinsonia ligustrina, and Gaiadendron punctatum Loranthaceae are primarily xylem parasites, but their haustoria may sometimes tap the phloem, while Tristerix aphyllus is almost holoparasitic. For a more complete description of the Australian Loranthaceae, see Flora of Australia online., for the Malesian Loranthaceae see Flora of Malesia.
Dieffenbachia, commonly known as dumb caneorleopard lily, is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the New World Tropics from Mexico and the West Indies south to Argentina. Some species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, especially as houseplants, and have become naturalized on a few tropical islands.
Monstera is a genus of 59 species of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.
Tapinanthus is a genus of mistletoe in the family Loranthaceae, endemic to Africa. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek tapeinos meaning "low" or "humble" and anthos meaning flower.
Epipremnum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, found in tropical forests from China, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia to Australia the western Pacific. They are evergreen perennial vines climbing with the aid of aerial roots. They may be confused with other Monstereae such as Rhaphidophora, Scindapsus and Amydrium.
Ocimum americanum, known as American basil, lime basil, or hoary basil, is a species of annual herb in the family Lamiaceae. Despite the misleading name, it is native to Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. The species is naturalized in Queensland, Christmas Island, and parts of tropical America.
Cercestis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. The species in this genus are all climbers and are endemic to Africa. At intervals along the stem they produce long leafless shoots called flagella. Many of the species in Cersestis show signs of fenestration.
Culcasia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical Africa. Most of its species are climbers and resemble Cercestis, except that they do not produce flagella.
Bridelia micrantha, the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
Aloe buettneri is a species of succulent plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is found in West Africa and is known for its medicinal uses.
Cola is a genus of trees native to the tropical forests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae. Species in this genus are sometimes referred to as kola tree or kola nut for the caffeine-containing fruit produced by the trees that is often used as a flavoring ingredient in beverages. The genus was thought to be closely related to the South American genus Theobroma, or cocoa, but the latter is now placed in a different subfamily. They are evergreen trees, growing up to 20 m tall, with glossy ovoid leaves up to 30 cm long and star-shaped fruit.
Pleiocarpa is a genus of plant in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1876. It is native to tropical Africa from Senegal to Tanzania and south to Zimbabwe. As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 6 species:
Macrosolen is a genus of plants in the family Loranthaceae. It includes about 83 species all over the world with ca. 40 species widely distributed in tropical South and Southeast Asia. Some species were described by de Loureiro, Lecomte, Danser (1938) and Hô (2003).
Tapinanthus rubromarginatus, commonly known as red mistletoe, is a species of plant in the family Loranthaceae. The leaf margins are red as reflected by the specific name rubro-, meaning "red", and marginatus meaning "margin".
Amyema plicatula is a species of hemi-parasitic shrub found in the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, New South Wales and Queensland.
Erianthemum is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Loranthaceae.
Englerina is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Loranthaceae.
Globimetula is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Loranthaceae.