Amyema miquelii

Taxobox
name = Box Mistletoe


regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Santalales
familia = Loranthaceae
genus = "Amyema"
genus_authority =
species = "A. miquelii"
binomial = "Amyema miquelii"| binomial_authority = (Lehm. ex Miq.) Tiegh. [APNI | name =Amyema miquelii | id = 33284]

"Amyema miguelli" is a stem holoparasite of the family Loranthaceae. It is specific to a select few species the Australian Eucalyptus Genra. They are spread by the mistletoe bird that eats the fruit, defecates and has to wipe it from its feathers onto a Eucalyptus tree branch due to the sticky nature of the seed.

The Mistletoe bird gets very little nutritional benefit from eating these fruit so the seed is intact and the majorly undigested mucus attaches the seed to the tree. The seed begins to germinate and penetrates the tree's vascular system with a structure called the hypocotyl (similar to the radicle of any germinating plant). From that point, the Amyema seedling begins to obtain nutrients from the host and develop into a large plant.fact|date=July 2008

References