Erianthemum dregei is a species of parasitic plant

Parasitic plant

A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...

 in the Loranthaceae

Loranthaceae

Loranthaceae is a family of flowering plants, which has been universally recognized by taxonomists. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemi-parasites, all of them except three having the mistletoe habit...

 family, and is commonly known as the Hairy Mistletoe or Wood Flower.

Distribution and habitat

These plants are native to Africa and are parasitic on a large number of tree species in higher rainfall areas from the Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...

 of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, through KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

, Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

 and Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...

, to East Africa, as far as northern Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. They are also found in southern Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

.

Description

A branched parasitic shrub with spreading or pendent stems, forming clumps of up to 2m x 1.5m. The leaves are leathery and hairless, usually alternate (sometimes opposite), with conspicuous side veins. The growing points are velvety brown. The flowers are massed in small clusters and are densely hairy, pale yellowish-green and sometimes flushed orange to pink. The fruit is an orange to bright red berry, 10–15 mm in size. Erianthemum dregei shows great variation across its range.

Human uses

Erianthemum dregei is used in African traditional medicine to treat stomach complaints in children and cattle.

Ecological significance

The flowers and fruit attract birds. The leaves are eaten by the larvae of Mylothris agathina

Mylothris agathina

The Eastern Dotted Border or Common Dotted Border is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and southern and eastern South Africa...

.