Mitrastemon

Mitrastemon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Mitrastemonaceae
Makino[1]
Genus: Mitrastemon
Makino
Species

M. matudae
M. yamamotoi

Mitrastemon is a genus of two widely disjunct species of parasitic plants.[2] It is the only genus within the family Mitrastemonaceae. Mitrastemon species are root endoparasites, which grow on Fagaceae.

Taxonomy

The taxonomic placement of the Mitrastemon was unsure for a long time. Originally it was placed within the order Rafflesiales, together with other parasitic plants, but this order was long suspected to be actually polyphyletic. In 2004, the genus was found to be related to Ericales by comparing their mitochondrial DNA.[3]

Several orthographic variants of the name Mitrastemon exist, including Mitrastema and Mitrastemma. The correct taxonomic name is Mitrastemon, the use of which was proposed and justified in an article by Reveal[4] and approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants in a subsequent article.[5]

Species

Two species are known. M. matudae is found in Central America, while M. yamamotoi is found in Southeast Asia and Japan.

References

  1. ↑ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
  2. ↑ Mitrastemonaceae Makino
  3. ↑ Daniel L Nickrent et al. (2004), "Phylogenetic inference in Rafflesiales: the influence of rate heterogeneity and horizontal gene transfer", BMC Evolutionary Biology 4: 40, doi:10.1186/1471-2148-4-40, PMC 528834, PMID 15496229
  4. ↑ Reveal, J. (2010). "(1923) Proposal to conserve the name Mitrastemon (Rafflesiaceae) with that spelling". Taxon 59: 299–300.
  5. ↑ Brummitt, R. K. (2011). "Report of the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants: 63". Taxon 60: 1202–1210.