{{Short description|Species of epiphyte}} {{Expand German|topic=scitech|Zwergmistel|date=January 2018}} {{Speciesbox |image = Viscum minimum2 ies.jpg |image_caption = ''Viscum minimum'' leaf scales and flowers emerging from the host plant. |genus = Viscum |species = minimum |authority = Harv. |synonyms ={{species list |Aspidixia minima|(Harv.) Tiegh.}} |synonyms_ref =<ref name=POWO/> }}
'''''Viscum minimum''''' is a species of mistletoe in the family ''Santalaceae''.<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |url= https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:552444-1 |title= Viscum minimum Harv. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=November 29, 2024}}</ref><ref name=COL>{{cite web |url= https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/5BKGT |title= Viscum minimum Harv. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=Catalogue of Life |publisher=Species 2000 |access-date=November 29, 2024}}</ref> It is a parasitic plant native to South Africa.
==Description== In its native habitat ''Viscum minimum'' uses two species of succulents, ''Euphorbia polygona'' and ''Euphorbia horrida'', as host plants. However, given the opportunity, the plant uses a range of succulents, including cacti, as hosts.
A mature ''Viscum minimum'' consists mostly of haustoria within the host plant, with small stems of less than one millimeter in length each with a single whorl of 2-3 scale-like leaves. A single flower, and later a red round fruit with a diameter of 8-9 millimeters, emerges from these stems. The leaves and stems are capable of photosynthesis, making the plant technically a hemiparasite.
The ''Viscum minimum'' mitochondrial genome has been sequenced, showing an unusual loss of genes or their functions. <ref>Massive gene loss in mistletoe (Viscum, Viscaceae) mitochondria [https://www.nature.com/articles/srep17588#f1 Nature] Accessed 5.1.2018</ref>
===Seed germination===
<gallery> Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag00 ies.jpg|Day 1: The sticky seed has landed on the host plant. Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag04 ies.jpg|Day 4: Germination has commenced. Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag10 ies.jpg|Day 10: The shoot emerges from the seed. Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag23 ies.jpg|Day 23: The shoot has made contact with the host plant. Image:Viscum minimum horrida tag30 ies.jpg|Day 30: The primary haustorium has developed. </gallery>
==Literature== * William Henry Harvey: Flora Capensis 2: 581 * Robert Allen Dyer: ''Two Rare Parasites on Succulent Species of Euphorbia'', Euphorbia Review Vol. I (4): 29-32, 1935 * Thomas Goebel: ''Viscum minimum Harvey in der Sukkulentensammlung der Stadt Zürich'', Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten 29 (1), 1978 * Frank K. Horwood: ''Two parasites of Euphorbia: Viscum minimum and Hydnora africana'', The Euphorbia Journal, Vol 1: 45-48, 1983
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q244253}}
minimum Category:Parasitic plants Category:Taxa named by William Henry Harvey