Rhizanthes

Rhizanthes
	Illustration of Rhizanthes (then known as Brugmansia), from Der Bau und die Eigenschaften der Pflanzen (1913).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Rafflesiaceae
Genus:	Rhizanthes; Dumort.
Type species
	Rhizanthes zippelii Blume(Spach);

Rhizanthes is a genus of 4 species of parasitic flowering plants without leaves, stems, roots, or photosynthetic tissue. They grow on roots of a few species of Tetrastigma vines. The genus is limited to the tropical forests of south and south-east Asia. The flowers of Rhizanthes vary from 14 to 43 cm in diameter. At least one species of Rhizanthes, R. lowii, is endothermic. It not only produces its own heat, but has the rare ability to regulate its own temperature.^[1]^[2]

Species

Rhizanthes deceptor (Sumatra)
Rhizanthes infanticida (S. Thailand, W. Malaysia, Sumatra)
Rhizanthes lowii (Borneo)
Rhizanthes zippelii (W. Java)

References

^ Banziger, Hans; Bertel Hansen (2000). "A new taxonomic revision of a deceptive flower, Rhizanthes Dumortier (Rafflesiaceae)" (PDF). The Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society: 117–143.
^ Patiño, S.; J. Grace; H. Bänziger (2000). "Endothermy by flowers of Rhizanthes lowii (Rafflesiaceae)". Oecologia. 124 (2): 149–155. doi:10.1007/s004420050001.

External links

The Flowering of Australia's Rainforests: A Plant and Pollination Miscellany

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[Banzinger-1] Banziger, Hans; Bertel Hansen (2000). "A new taxonomic revision of a deceptive flower, Rhizanthes Dumortier (Rafflesiaceae)" (PDF). The Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society: 117–143.

[2] Patiño, S.; J. Grace; H. Bänziger (2000). "Endothermy by flowers of Rhizanthes lowii (Rafflesiaceae)". Oecologia. 124 (2): 149–155. doi:10.1007/s004420050001.

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