Tag Archives: Loranthaceae

Agelanthus guineensis Polhill & Wiens

Guinea Mistletoe (Agelanthus guineensis)

This species, described in 1997, is, or was, restricted to the forests in northern Guinea in West Africa; it is apparently known only from the type material which was collected in 1956.

The species was never found since the collection of the type and is believed to be extinct.

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The photo below shows an additional congeneric species, the Dodonaea-leaved Mistletoe (Agelanthus dodoneifolius (DC.) Polhill & Wiens), a species that also occurs in Guinea.

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Dodonaea-leaved Mistletoe (Agelanthus dodoneifolius)

Photo: Rob Palmer
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/rob_palmer
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

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edited: 15.01.2024

Trilepidea adamsii (Cheeseman) Tiegh.

Adams’ Mistletoe (Trilepidea adamsii)

Adams’ Mistletoe was described in 1880, it is one of several mistle species that are endemic to New Zealand; it was apparently restricted to a few sites on the North Island of New Zealand. It was preferably growing on mamangi (Coprosma arborea Kirk.).

The species was last seen in 1954 on Sanitorium Hill, Maungakawa, near the Waikato town of Cambridge.

The reasons for the extinction of this species appear to be unknown, it is often thought to have disappeared due to browsing by the indroduced Brushtail Possums (Didelphis vulpecula (Kerr)), however, this seems rather to be unlikely. [1]


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References:

[1] David A. Norton: Trilepidea adamsii: An orbituary for a species. Conservation Biology 5(1): 52-57. 1991

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Depiction by: Georgina Burne Hetley; about 1888

(public domain)

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edited: 24.10.2020

Helixanthera ensifolia (Thw.) Danser

Sword-leaved Helixanthera (Helixanthera ensifolia)

The Sword-leaved Helixanthera is, or was, restricted to the wet forests of Karawita Kanda, a mountainous region near the town of Kalawana in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka

The species is considered probably extinct.

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edited: 06.09.2020