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Balanophora fungosa
Also called Balanophora
Balanophora fungosa, sometimes known as fungus root, is a flowering plant in the family Balanophoraceae and occurs in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and some Pacific islands. It is a parasite growing on the roots of rainforest trees. The flowering structure is shaped like a puffball but in fact consists of a globe covered with thousands of tiny female flowers. The globe is surrounded at its base by a much smaller number of male flowers. In flower, the plant emits an odour resembling that of mice.
Balanophora fungosa is found in coastal forests from near sea level to 900 metres (3,000 ft) in Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Ryukyu Islands, New Guinea, the Philippines, some Pacific Islands including New Caledonia, India and Cambodia. In Australia it occurs in Queensland, from about Noosa to the tip of Cape York Peninsula.
Some cultures, such as the Paliar people of Tamil Nadu, use B. fungosa to treat medical conditions.
Balanophora coralliformis · Balanophora cucphuongensis · Japanese Balanophora · Balanophora
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Balanophora fungosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
