Peraxilla tetrapetala

Peraxilla tetrapetala

Gradual Decline (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Loranthaceae
Genus: Peraxilla
Species:
P. tetrapetala
Binomial name
Peraxilla tetrapetala

Peraxilla tetrapetala, or red mistletoe, is a parasitic plant in the family Loranthaceae, endemic to New Zealand and found on both the North and South Islands.[3] The Māori names for the plant are pikirangi, pirirangi and roeroe.[2]

It is a shrub up to one metre tall with glabrous leaves. The flowers are 4–5 mm long, bright red to orange in colour which split open to the base. Red mistletoe mainly parasitises Quintinia and Nothofagus species.[4] Its principal host is the black/mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri complex). However, north of latitude 38°S this species utilises tawheowheo (Quintinia serrata), and in the far north has been found on pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), puriri (Vitex lucens) and towai (Weinmannia sylvicola), and hence, is the most widely distributed beech mistletoe.[3]

P. tetrapetala is hermaphroditic, self-compatible, and is both bird-pollinated and bird-dispersed, yet has an explosive bud-opening mechanism.[5] It is thought that birds are more important for seed dispersal than for pollination.[5]

The caterpillar of the endemic moth Zelleria maculata feeds on the inside flower buds of P. tetrapetala and as a result can affect the production of seeds of this plant.[6][7][8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NZTCS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Peraxilla tetrapetala". www.nzflora.info. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Dist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Allan, H. H. (1982). Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Ladley1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Dave Kelly; Jenny J. Ladley; Alastair W. Robertson; Lisa Crowfoot (8 October 2008). "Flower predation by Zelleria maculata (Lepidoptera) on Peraxilla mistletoes: effects of latitude and fragmentation, and impact on fruit set" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 32 (2). Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. ^ Dave Kelly; Jenny J. Ladley; Alastair W. Robertson; David A. Norton (2000). "Limited forest fragmentation improves reproduction in the declining New Zealand mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae)". In Andrew G. Young; Geoffrey M. Clarke (eds.). Genetics, Demography and Viability of Fragmented Populations. Cambridge University Press. p. 241–252. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511623448.018. ISBN 0521794218.
  8. ^ Peter de Lange; David Norton, eds. (June 1997), New Zealand’s loranthaceous mistletoes (PDF), pp. 1–225, Wikidata Q124157540, archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2024