Dendrophthoe Mart.

30 species from tropical Africa to Australia with its center of diversity in W. Malesia

5 species recorded from New Guinea. Click on a name to go to its species page

  1. D. curvata (Blume) Miquel. * Malesia, from Sumatra to New Guinea, Solomon Isl., N. Queensland.
  2. D. gjellerupii (Lauterb.) Dans. New Guinea, SW Pacific.
  3. D. odontocalyx (Benth.) Tiegh.  * Northern Australia, Timor, Alor, Sumbawa, east Java and now (new record) from New Ireland.
  4. D. pelagica Barlow. * New Guinea, SW Pacific.
  5. D. trichanthera Barlow. New Guinea, SW Pacific.

NOTE: D. falcata (L. f.) Ettingsh is now excluded from the New Guinea flora (see Barlow 1995). Now, all collections formerly given this species name are D. curvata.

Description (Barlow (1974)

Dendrophthoe Mart. Flora 13: 109 (1830); Tiegh. Bull. Soc. bot. Fr. 42; 87, 251 (1895); Dans. Bull. Jard. bot. Buitenz. 11: 397 (1931); Loranthus subgen. Dendrophthoe subsect. Eudendrophthoe Engl. Pfl. Fam.Nachtr. 129 (1897); Engl. & Krause, Pfl. Fam.ed. 2 16b: 153 (1935). Type Species.-D. farinosus (Desr.) Mart. (lectotype, cf. Barlow, Aust. J. Bot. 14: 490 (1966)).

For full synonymy see Dans. Bull. Jard. bot. Buitenz. 11: 397 (1931).

Aerial stem-parasites; runners usually present; leaves alternate or scattered (less frequently opposite); venation pennate. Inflorescence a simple axillary raceme or spike (sometimes reduced to a simple 2-flowered umbel or to a single axillary flower); bracts single under each flower. Corolla in the mature bud usually inflated, curved; petals in the open flower 5, gamopetalous and forming a tube irregularly divided into lobes. Anthers basifixed, immobile, 4-locular; pollen trilobate. Basic Chromosome Number.-x = 9.


A genus of about 30 species distributed from tropical Africa to Australia, with the largest centre of development in western Malesia. Species limits are generally very difficult to determine (see note under D. falcata). Of the four species which occur in New Guinea and adjacent islands, three are rather localized endemics and the other extends to India and northern Australia.

Key to Species of Dendrophthoe


1a. Filaments of the stamens stellate-hairy. Young shoots, inflorescences and flowers densely rusty- tomentose 4. D. trichanthera
1b. Filaments of the stamens glabrous. Young shoots, inflorescences and flowers glabrous or sparsely to densely white- or light brown-tomentose 2
2a. Corolla less than 20 mm long 2. D. giellerupii
2b. Corolla more than 25 mm long 3
3a. Leaves thick, rounded at the apex, widest above the middle. Whole plant entirely glabrous. 3. D. pelagica
3b. Leaves variable but usually thin, obtuse at the apex, widest below the middle. Shoots and inflorescences usually white-tomentose 1. D. falcata

Also D. odontocalyx

Dendrophthoe Genus Page

last updated 22 January 2007