Hydnora africana

taxobox
name = Hydnoraceae


image_caption = "Hydnora africana" flowers, Karasburg Constituency, Namibia, 2002
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Magnoliids
ordo = Piperales
familia = Hydnoraceae
genus = "Hydnora"
species = "H. africana"
binomial = "Hydnora africana"
binomial_authority = Thunb.|

"Hydnora africana" is an achlorophyllous plant native to southern Africa that is parasitic on the roots of members of the Euphorbiaceae family. The plant grows underground, except for a fleshy flower that emerges above ground and emits an odor of feces to attract its natural pollinators, dung beetles, and carrion beetles. The flowers act as traps for a brief period retaining the beetles that enter, then releasing them when the flower is fully opened. [cite book|last=Waser |first=Nickoloas M.|coauthors=Jeff Ollerton (editors)|title=Plant-Pollinator Interactions: From Specialization to Generalization|date=2006|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0226874001]

References