Gastrodia kuroshimensis
Gastrodia kuroshimensis is an unusual species of plant that was discovered in April 2016.[1] It is mycoheterotrophic, meaning that it does not engage in photosynthesis like most plants but obtains energy from its host fungi. It is also cleistogamous, meaning that it produces flowers that never open. Since its flowers never open, it is self-fertilizing.[2]
| Gastrodia kuroshimensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Tribe: | Gastrodieae |
| Genus: | Gastrodia |
| Species: | G. kuroshimensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Gastrodia kuroshimensis Suetsugu | |
Thus far the species has only been found on the Japanese island of Kuroshima after which it is named.
Due to its dark habitat and cleistogamous flowers, it is not pollinated by insects, unlike most other species of orchids.[1][3]
References
- Suetsugu, Kenji (12 October 2016). "Gastrodia kuroshimensis ( Orchidaceae), a new mycoheterotrophic and complete cleistogamous plant from Japan". 278 (3): 265–272. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.278.3.6 – via biotaxa.org. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - Times, Tech (15 October 2016). "There's A Plant In Japan That Neither Photosynthesizes Nor Blooms".
- "[과학뉴스] 광합성도 안 하고, 꽃도 안 피는 식물? | d라이브러리". Retrieved 2017-01-16.
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