Cytinus is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. Its species do not produce chlorophyll any more, but rely fully on its host plant. Cytinus only parasitizes Cistus and Halimium, two genera of plants in the Cistaceae family.

Several species are found in the Mediterranean Region, South Africa, with a possibly undescribed species from Madagascar.

Biology

C. capensis and C. sanguineus are dioecious, while C. hypocistis is monoecious.

C. hypocistis has been shown to infect mainly Halimium halimifolium and Cistus monspeliensis in Portugal.

Systematics

The genus Cytinus was previously included in the parasitic family Rafflesiaceae, but is now put into the family Cytinaceae (order Malvales), together with the genus Bdallophytum with four species.

Cytinus ruber is no longer considered a separate species, but is now a subspecies of C. hypocistis.

Uses

The young C. hypocistis is cooked as an Asparagus substitute, and an extract has been used in treating dysentery, throat tumors and as an astringent. C. ruber is also edible, and was used in folk medicine as an emmenagogue.

Species

• Cytinus capensis — South Africa
• Cytinus hypocistis — Mediterranean from Morocco to southern France and Turkey
• Cytinus ruber - Mediterranean (is now C. hypocistis ssp. clusii)
• Cytinus sanguineus — South Africa
• Cytinus visseri — South Africa

Footnotes

References

• (2004): Phylogenetic inference in Rafflesiales: the influence of rate heterogeneity and horizontal gene transfer. BMC Evolutionary Biology 4: 40.
• (2007): Host Specificity in the Parasitic Plant Cytinus hypocistis. Research Letters in Ecology. (with link to full text PDF)

Further reading

• (2006): A new species of Cytinus (Cytinaceae) from South Africa and Swaziland, with a key to the Southern African species. Novon 16(3): 315-319. Abstract

External links

• Cytinaceae References
• Pictures of type specimens from South Africa