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Image Title: Tristerix penduliflorus (Loranthaceae)
Image Credit: Romina Vidal-Russell, Southern Illinois University
AJB Editor: Judy Jernstedt, University of California - Davis
Intended End User: Teacher, Student
License Details: BSA - Terms for Image Use
Copyright held by: Vidal-Russell, BSA
Date Created: 4/1/2007
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About the Image

Tristerix penduliflorus (Loranthaceae) is a bird-pollinated mistletoe that occurs in dry, high elevation (3700 m) habitats from southern Peru to Bolivia. This plant, parasitic on Schinus (Anacardiaceae), was photographed near Maras, Departamento Cuzco, in southern Peru (scale: 3.83× unopened flower buds are typically 3.7 cm long). Although the flower color pattern suggests affinity with other Peruvian species, molecular data indicate that T. penduliflorus is related to three Tristerix species with more southern distributions. One of these southern species from central Chile, T. aphyllus, appears to have arisen in sympatry from T. corymbosus, an event accompanied by a host switch driven by the behavior of a seeddispersing bird.

National Science Foundation  Development Supported by the National Science Foundation