Maracanthus Kuijt ( Kuijt 1976: 231 )

Murillo-Serna, Jhon S., Carmona-Gallego, Isabel, Roldán, Francisco J., Sierra-Giraldo, Julio A. & Alzate-Guarín, Fernando, 2025, Synopsis of Maracanthus (Loranthaceae) and description of M. kuijtii, a new species from the Eastern Andes of Colombia, Plant Ecology and Evolution 158 (1), pp. 14-22 : 14-22

Maracanthus Kuijt ( Kuijt 1976: 231)

Oryctanthus (Griseb.) Eichler in Martius ( Eichler 1868: 22, 87) pro parte

Oryctina Tiegh. ( Van Tieghem 1895: 168) pro parte

Phthirusa Mart. ( Martius 1830: 110) pro parte

Type species.

Maracanthus chlamydatus (Rizzini) Kuijt.

Description.

Hemiparasitic plants, glabrous or partly furfuraceous. Stems percurrent or determinate by apical abortion. Internodes terete, ancipitate or quadrangular, with conspicuous furfuraceous stripes or glabrous. Leaves opposite, oblanceolate to broadly elliptical, apex rounded, base with or without distinct petiole, when indistinct, the petiole is observed as the prolongation of the leaf blade base, venation pinnate. Dioecious or monoecious. Inflorescences simple, axillary spikes and / or terminal, pedunculate or sessile, bearing pairs of scale-leaves subtending single sessile flowers; each flower flanked by a pair of acute, conspicuous, naviculate bracteoles. Flower hexamerous, less than 5 mm in length. Corolla with petals dimorphic. Androecium with stamens dimorphic, attached at two different heights, with 2 or 4 pollen sacs, filaments short or lacking in short stamen series, dorsifixed, anther apex with papillate or massive connective protuberance. Style straight; stigma distinct. Fruit an oblong, one-seeded berry. Embryo dicotyledonous, cotyledons long and narrow, haustorial pole weakly developed.

Distribution.

Five species of Maracanthus are recognised here, four of which are distributed in northern South America ( Venezuela and Colombia) and one in western Costa Rica. Maracanthus chlamydatus and M. badilloi (G. Ferrari) Kuijt are the taxa with the widest distributional range and the most collected species of the genus. The remaining three species are known from very few collections and restricted localities.