Dactylanthus taylorii

Detailed description

Dioecious, achlorophyllous, holoparasitic, root-parasite. Rhizomes mostly buried just below soil surface, usually terminal on host root and attached over a broad irregular surface to expanded end of host root; ± hemispherical, globose, up to 600 mm diameter, surface dark brown, externally covered with hard angular or warty papillae and old flower and fruiting bases, internally fleshy and ± starchy. Shoots seasonal, numerous, arising irregularly and mostly from base of rhizomes, unbranched 100–300 × 10–15 mm long, covered with glossy, dark brown, maroon-brown to red-brown, membranous, sessile, imbricating scale leaves; lamina 5–20 × 5–9 mm, broadly deltoid, claw-like, long-tapering from base, subacute to acute, entire, glabrous, becoming larger and paler toward shoot apex. Inflorescence a terminal capitulum of 15–28 spadices, 20–40 mm diameter, surrounded by an involucre of brown, cream, pink, red or yellow scale leaves, these up to 30 × 15 mm; spadix-axis erect, 20–25 mm long, ± grooved, flowers crowded on upper 2/3, occasionally diffusely scattered, sometimes admixed with bracts in lower 1/3. Flowers densely crowded; male perianth segments, 0–4 filamentous; stamen usually 1, rarely 2, subsessile or sessile, filament 0.2–0.45 mm, anther bilobed, white, pollen whitish, abundant; female perianth segments 2, usually unequal, adnate to ovary, ovary 2-loculed, style > ovary, filiform, stigma simple. Fruit 1.5–1.8 mm, ovate, asymmetric, angular, dark purple-brown to black brown, terminal end bearing remnant style and perianth. Nut 1.3–1.5 mm, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, asymmetric, glossy dark red-brown or purple-brown, glabrous.