'Loranthaceae' is a
family of
flowering plants, which has been universally recognized by taxonomists. It consists of about 75
genera and 1,000
species of
woody plants, many of them
hemi-parasites, all of them except three having the
mistletoe habit. The three terrestrial species are ''Nuytsia floribunda'' - the Australian christmas tree, ''Atkinsonia ligustrina'' - a rare shrub of the Blue Mountains of Australia, and the Central to South American species of ''Gaiadendron punctatum''.
Originally it contained all mistletoe species, but the typical christmas mistletoes of Europe and North America (the genera ''Viscum'' and ''Phoradendron'') belongs to the family Viscaceae that is sometimes included within the family Santalaceae.
The
APG II system (2003; unchanged from the
APG system of 1998) assigns the family to the order
Santalales in the clade
core eudicots.
;Genera
See also
★
Parasitic plant
External links
★
Loranthaceae in
L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). ''The families of flowering plants''.
★
Loranthaceae at Parasitic plants
★
NCBI Taxonomy Browser
★
''Notanthera heterophylla'' illustrations