Hinokibayadori - Hinokibayadori

Japanese: ヒノキバヤドリギ - ひのきばやどりぎ

A parasitic plant with degenerated leaves of the Mistletoe family. It parasitizes on evergreen broad-leaved trees, such as camellia and Ilex family, and the leaves are degenerated into scales, but instead the stems are flattened and have chloroplasts that perform photosynthesis; it is a so-called hemiparasitic plant. The stems are about 10-20 cm tall and branch well at the joints, reminiscent of the green branches of a cypress. The flowers that bloom during high temperatures are small and yellow-green, with one or several flowers at the stem apex or nodes, and are dioecious. Male flowers have three short tepals and three stamens. The ovary of the female flower is lower, and the fruit is elliptical, about 2-3 mm long, and ripens to be orange-yellow.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ヤドリギ科の葉が退化した寄生植物。ツバキやモチノキ科などの，多くは常緑広葉樹に寄生し，葉は鱗片状に退化しているが，代りに茎が扁平となり葉緑体を有して光合成を行う，いわゆる半寄生植物である。茎は高さ10～20cmほど，関節からよく分枝し，ヒノキの緑枝を想像させる。高温期につく花は細小で黄緑色，茎頂あるいは節に1～数花がつき，雌雄異花。雄花は3枚の短小な花被片を有し，3本のおしべがある。雌花の子房は下位で，果実は楕円形，長さ2～3mmほど，橙黄色に熟す。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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