Hydnora africana
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| Hydnora africana | |
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| Hydnora africana flowers, Karasburg Constituency, Namibia, 2002 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Piperales |
| Family: | Hydnoraceae |
| Genus: | Hydnora |
| Species: | H. africana |
| Binomial name | |
| Hydnora africana Thunb. |
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Hydnora africana is an achlorophyllous plant[citation needed] native to southern Africa[citation needed] that is parasitic on the roots of members of the Euphorbiaceae family.[citation needed] The plant grows underground, except for a fleshy flower that emerges above ground and emits an odor of feces to attract its natural pollinators, dung beetles,[citation needed] and carrion beetles.[1] The flowers act as traps for a brief period retaining the beetles that enter, then releasing them when the flower is fully opened.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Waser, Nickoloas Merritt; Ollerton, Jeff, eds (2006). "Table 6.1: Angiosperms with rewardless flowers". Plant-Pollinator Interactions: From Specialization to Generalization. University of Chicago Press. pp. 126–9. ISBN 978-0-226-87400-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Fbl5c9fUxTIC&pg=PA126.
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