Biology:Psittacanthus mayanus
| Psittacanthus mayanus | |
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| Psittacanthus mayanus flowers | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Santalales |
| Family: | Loranthaceae |
| Genus: | Psittacanthus |
| Species: | P. mayanus
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| Binomial name | |
| Psittacanthus mayanus Standl. & Steyerm., 1944
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Psittacanthus mayanus, with no established English name, is a species of the genus Psittacanthus, whose members are known generally as mistletoes and parrot-flowers. It belongs to the family of the Showy Mistletoes, the Loranthaceae.
Description
Psittacanthus mayanus is a hairless bush partially parasitic on trees. Stems on older plants are somewhat quadrangular in cross-section. Paired, thin leaves, broadest near their middles, are up to about 8 cm (3.1 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide. Blade tips are rounded, while blade bases narrow to very short petioles.[1]
Inflorescences occur at branch tips, with flowers ultimately arranged in threes, plus sometimes smaller flower clusters arise nearby where leaf petioles attach to their stem. Flowers are bright red, though sometimes yellowish, with more or less same-sized petals 3 cm (1.2 in) long and spreading on mature flowers. Stamens consist of small, pollen-producing anthers atop slender, red filaments of two lengths about 15 mm (0.59 in) long. Mature fruits are ellipsoid, red and about 9 mm (0.35 in) long.[1]
Distribution
Psittacanthus mayanus occurs in southern Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula south into the states of Michoacán, Oaxaca and Chiapas, as well as in Belize, Guatemala,[1] and probably also in Honduras and El Salvador.[2]
Habitat
Psittacanthus mayanus, like other Psittacanthus species, tend to parasitize the crown of trees.[1] As partially parasitic, or "hemiparasitic", not only do they take water from their host trees, but also their ow leaves remain photosynthetic, manufacturing some of the plant's own nutrients.[3]
In the Yucatan Peninsula Psittacanthus mayanus is known to parasitize the commonly occurring wild tamarind, Lysiloma latisiliquum, of the Bean Family.[3] Images on this page show an individual atop a planted Crepe Myrtle, Lagerstroemia speciosa, of the family Lythraceae.[4] In the 1944 formal description of Psittacanthus mayanus, the type specimen (Percy Gentle 116, British Honduras, now Belize) was on a Gumbo Limbo, Bursera simaruba, of the Burseraceae.[5]
Taxonomy
Within the family Loranthaceae, Psittacanthus mayanus is considered to belong to the subfamily Loranthoideae, the tribe Psittacantheae, and subtribe Psittacanthinae.[6]
A 2019 study based on floral characters found that Psittacanthus mayanus is part of a clade along with P. acinarius, P. breedlovei, P. calycaulatus, P. rhynchanthus and P. schiedianus.[7]
Etymology
In the genus name Psittacanthus the Psitta is from the Ancient Greek ψιττακη, psittakē, meaning "parrot".[8] The -acanthus is from the New Latin acanthus, which was a borrowing from the Greek akanthos, a thorny plant, the word akantha meaning "thorn".[9] This history is associated with one of the common name of Psittacanthus species, "parrot-flowers".
The species name, mayanus, was not explained by the authors upon publication, but it clearly relates the taxon's distribution area coinciding with that of the Mayan people.
Gallery
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Psittacanthus mayanus flowering branch -
Psittacanthus mayanus leaves and quadrangular stems -
Psittacanthus mayanus parasitizing a Crepe Myrtle
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kuijt, Job (April 6, 2009). "Monograph of Psittacanthus (Loranthaceae)". Systematic Botany Monographs (Wyoming, USA: American Society of Plant Taxonomists) 86: 1-361. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25592351. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ↑ "Psittacanthus mayanus Standl. & Steyerm.". United Kingdom: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:212153-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tun Tun, Christian Emmanuel; Martínez-Abriz, Emmanuel (February 15, 2018). "Psittacanthus mayanus y la familia Loranthaceae en Yucatán" (in Spanish). Mérida, Yucatán, México: Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C.. https://www.cicy.mx/Documentos/CICY/Desde_Herbario/2018/2018-02-15-CTun-EMartinez-Psittacanthus-mayanus.pdf.
- ↑ "Psittacanthus mayanus Research Grade". iNaturalist. February 8, 2019. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/227337950.
- ↑ Standley, Paul Carpenter; Steyermark, Julian Alfred (February 14, 1944). "Studies of Central American Plants - IV". Botanical Series (Chicago, IL, USA: Field Museum of Natural History) 23 (2): 41-42. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2386148. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ↑ "Psittacanthus mayanus Standl. & Steyerm.". Catalogue of Life. November 16, 2025. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/4PK77.
- ↑ Robayo, Camila; Marquínez, Xavier; Raz, Lauren; Nickrent, Daniel Lee (March 31, 2020). "Floral anatomy of the plant Psittacanthus schiedeanus (Loranthaceae)". Revista de Biología Tropical (Costa Rica: Universidad de Costa Rica) 68 (1): 1-11. doi:10.15517/rbt.v68i1.37433. ISSN 0034-7744. https://archivo.revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/37433/41201.
- ↑ Jobling, James A., ed. "The Key to Scientific Names". Ithaca, New York, USA: Cornell University. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Sitta&page=29&size=20.
- ↑ "a·can·thus (ə-kăn'thəs)". New York, USA: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=acanthus.
Wikidata ☰ Q15354133 entry
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