Rhizanthes · Kew POWO · Kew Plants of the World Online
Rhizanthes
Sign in to saveRhizanthes is a genus of four species of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. They are without leaves, stems, roots, or photosynthetic tissue, and grow within the roots of a few species of Tetrastigma vines. The genus is limited to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. The flowers of Rhizanthes are very large, they vary from 14 to 43 cm in diameter. At least one species of Rhizanthes, Rh. lowii, is endothermic.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderMalpighiales
- FamilyRafflesiaceae
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 2
- With media
- 2
- Family
- Rafflesiaceae
- Collections
- IND
- Recorded in
- Malaysia/Sabah, Indonesia
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Names
- Description
- Similar genera
- Taxonomy
- Distribution
- Ecology
- References
Rhizanthes is a genus of four species of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. They are without leaves, stems, roots, or photosynthetic tissue, and grow within the roots of a few species of Tetrastigma vines. The genus is limited to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. The flowers of Rhizanthes are very large, they vary from 14 to 43 cm in diameter. At least one species of Rhizanthes, Rh. lowii, is endothermic.
==Names== The Latin name derives from the compound of the Ancient Greek words ῥίζα (pronounced rhíza), meaning 'root', with the word ἄνθος (anthos) meaning 'flower'.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rhizanthes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.