page_title: Loranthus
section_title: Ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Loranthus / Ecology
caption_attribution_description: മലയാളം: ഇത്തിക്കണ്ണിയുടെ പൂവ്
context_page_description: Loranthus is a genus of parasitic plants that grow on the branches of woody trees. It belongs to the family Loranthaceae, the showy mistletoe family. In most earlier systematic treatments it contains all mistletoe species with bisexual flowers, though some species have reversed to unisexual flowers. Other treatments restrict the genus to a few species. The systematic situation of Loranthus is not entirely clear.
context_section_description: Some species of Loranthus, in the broad sense, are parasites on cultivated trees; for example, they occur in Kerala and Uttarakhand India on mango trees (Mangifera indica),  sapota trees (Manilkara zapota) and poplar trees. The majority of the Anogeissus latifolia trees in the Biligirirangan Hills of Karnataka are infected by Loranthus species and in Africa, they are pests in cocoa plantations. These plants grow strongly on ageing trees particularly somewhere in the middle of old branches. Once established, they steal minerals and water, as well as block sunlight by covering the encroached place.
  The flowers of Loranthus europaeus are small, green, usually have four to six parts, and may be either unisexual or bisexual. Other species of a broader Loranthus have very large, showy flowers, with blooms in bright colours. The fruits are berries, usually containing a single seed, that is dispersed by birds.
  The floral characteristics indicate that it is ornithophilous in nature and has moderate quantity nectar stored in its perianth tube. The mature buds require external factors like tripping to ensure that they open up. In the absence of this, the buds fall off without opening. Birds help in this process and mature buds eject a cloud of pollens that sticks to the head or beak of the probing bird. The birds seen visiting these flowers in India are Tickell's flowerpecker, purple-rumped sunbird,  purple sunbird and spider-hunter.
caption: Loranthus flower found in Kerala
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