The Genus Hydnora (Hydnoraceae) in Southern Africa and Madagascar Lytton John Musselman Jay F

The genus Hydnora (Hydnoraceae) in Southern Africa and Madagascar Lytton John Musselman Jay F. Bolin

and Erika Maass University of Namibia The strangest plants in the world! Piperales: Hydnoraceae

Prosopanche Hydnora

Nickrent 2002 History of Taxonomy of Hydnora

Review of our Work the Past Decade

Ongoing and Future Research Holoparasitic mode and growth form of Hydnora

Euphorbia gregaria

Hydnora visseri Known as the CIA Flower Underground, unseen When seen, there is a big stink Obstacles to Systematic Studies

Seasonal appearance of plants not predictable

Type material often very poor

Often in remote areas Type specimen of Hydnora triceps The Discovery of Hydnora

Carl Thunberg 1743-1828 From fungus to foul flower?

J. F. Gaffard Hydnum repandum Hydnora esculenta The Discovery of Hydnora

“So strange is its composition that many would certainly doubt the existence of such a plant on the face of the earth."

Hydnora africana Carl Thunberg 1775 Type Specimen History of Discovery

Erik Acharius 1757-1819

Erik Acharius 1776 Acharius described at least one species, Aphyteia hydnora which is synonymous with Hydnora africana Johann Franz Dregé 1794-1881

Discovered and named Hydnora triceps in the 1830’s Moritz Kurt Dinter 1868-1945 named Hydnora solmsiana (= Hydnora abyssinica ) Johann Hendrik Visser 1931-1989

Rediscovered Hydnora triceps just before his untimely death A New Species of Hydnora (Hydnoraceae) from Southern Africa Jay F. Bolin , 1 , 2 , 4 Erika Maass , 3 and Lytton J. Musselman 2 1 Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History MRC 166, P. O. Box 37012, Washington DC, 20013-7012, U. S. A. 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529-0266, U. S. A. 3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia 4 Author for correspondence: [email protected] Communicating Editor: Chrissen Gemmill Abstract— We describe a new species, Hydnora visseri (Hydnoraceae), a holoparasitic perennial species from the Karas Region of Namibia and the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The new species is a distinct segregate of Hydnora africana and is restricted to transitional and winter rainfall areas of southern Namibia and northwestern South Africa. Hydnora visseri only occurs with H. africana in sympatry in a narrow geographical band where their respective host species occur together. Distinctly longer tepal lobes and the largest flower metrics in the section Euhydnora distinguish H. visseri from H. africana and Hydnora longicollis . At one known site where H. africana and H. visseri occur in sympatry, To honor the work of Johann Visser Sub-generic Taxonomy I Subgenus Neohydnora Harms Subgenus Dorhyna Decaisne II Subgenus Euhydnora Decaisne Subgenus Tricephalohydnum Harms Sub-generic Taxonomy I Subgenus Neohydnora Harms Subgenus Dorhyna Decaisne

Roots terete

Osmophores cucullate

Hosts Fabaceae, Burseraceae Hydnora Subgenera I Subgenus Neohydnora Harms Subgenus Dorhyna Decaisne

Hydnora esculenta Hydnora abyssinica Hydnora sinandevu Hydnora esculenta

Endemic to Madagascar

Described as being dioecious

Type (P) is insufficient

Hydnora esculenta

Neotype has been selected

Floral biology is like other species Hydnora johannis

Most widespread species in the genus ranging from Oman to Northern Cape Province of South Africa

First reported from southern Africa by Musselman and Visser 1987 Sub-generic Taxonomy II Subgenus Euhydnora Decaisne Subgenus Tricephalohydnum Harms

Roots angled

Osmophores recessed

Hosts exclusively species of Euphorbia Sub-generic Taxonomy II Subgenus Euhydnora Decaisne Subgenus Tricephalohydnum Harms

Hydnora africana Hydnora longicollis Hydnora triceps Hydnora visseri THE strangest plant in the world, Hydnora triceps The only evidence of Hydnora triceps

Hypogeous flowering known in only two genera • Rhizanthella gardneri Rogers Southwest Australia (Orchidaceae) • Hydnora triceps Fruits

First Discovered 2002

Floral Biology of Hydnora Day one Day two Day one Day two-Staminate Day one-Pistillate Day two Day two plus Day one Chamber Flower Structure

Osmophore

Anther Stigma Ovary Flowers Protogynous

Carpellate Staminate 3-4 Days Ring restricts slowly Dichogamy

Catch and Release Mechanism

Marloth (1907) first noted beetle entrapment

Trap and release is contingent on changes in the chamber wall texture

Days PollinationFloral Biology Ecology Summary Summary

Hydnora visseri • Flowering period 6-7 days • 65% of visits by Dermestes maculatus (2.4/flower) • Obligate outcrosser – Pollen Limited System • Trapping mechanism - selective - efficient - released beetles with viable pollen

Hydnora spp. • Extent of thermogenesis variable • Role in scent production - gynoecial development? General Trends in Hydnora Pollination Biology:

Coevolutionary “arms race”

Natural predation of flowers is high

Pollinator-pollen limitation

Obligate outcrossing - protogyny

Hypogeous flowers/plant body

Thermogenesis/Trapping Mechanism Ethnobotany of Hydnora: Food Dried Hydnora as a medicine

Hydnora abyssinica from market in Khartoum Recent Ethnobotanical Research

Vivienne Williams has found Hydnora in markets in Mozambique and eastern South Africa, expanding the range of Hydnora abyssinica and H. africana Hydnora spp. of Southern Africa and Madagascar

H. abyssinica H. triceps H. esculenta

H. africana H. longicollis H. visseri Sub-generic Taxonomy

Subgenus Hydnora

Subgenus Neohydnora Unpublished and preliminary phylogeny of the Hydnoraceae using nuclear (ITS), mitochondrial (nad6), and chloroplast loci (accD and rpoB). Maximum parsimony bootstrap support values and Bayesian posterior probabilities displayed above and below the nodes, respectively. Unpublished and preliminary phylogeny of the Hydnoraceae using nuclear (ITS), mitochondrial (nad6), and chloroplast loci (accD and rpoB). Maximum parsimony bootstrap support values and Bayesian posterior probabilities displayed above and below the nodes, respectively. Subgenus Hydnora

Unpublished and preliminary phylogeny of the Hydnoraceae using nuclear (ITS), mitochondrial (nad6), and chloroplast loci (accD and rpoB). Maximum parsimony bootstrap support values and Bayesian posterior probabilities displayed above and below the nodes, respectively. Subgenus Neohydnora

Field work in Mozambique and Angola

Nomenclatural problems

Germination and development studies . . Collaborators and Hydnora Hunters †Johann Visser, Stellenbosch University

Piet Vorster, Department of Botany Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch ا

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