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Hydnora africana
Species of flowering plants in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hydnora africana is an achlorophyllous plant in the subfamily Hydnoroideae, native to southern Africa that is parasitic on the roots of members of the family Euphorbiaceae.[1] It is also called jakkalskos or jackal food.[2] The specific epithet africana means to be from Africa.[3] Molecular data has suggested that Hydnoroideae is a "basal angiosperm" solidifying its place among the more primitive flowering plants.[1] Hydnoraceae are the only angiosperms known to have no leaves or scales and are considered obligate parasites, completely dependent on their hosts to survive.[4] The plant grows underground, except for a fleshy flower that emerges above ground and emits an odour of faeces to attract its natural pollinators, dung beetles and carrion beetles.[5] The vegetative body of the plants has been reduced to consisting only of roots and flowers.[4] The flowers act as temporary traps, retaining the beetles that enter long enough for them to pick up pollen.[6]
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Hydnora africana | |
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Flowers, Karasburg Constituency, Namibia | |
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Partially opened flower, near Robertson, South Africa | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Magnoliids |
Order: | Piperales |
Family: | Aristolochiaceae |
Subfamily: | Hydnoroideae |
Genus: | Hydnora |
Species: | H. africana |
Binomial name | |
Hydnora africana | |