Monotropaceae

The spruce asparagus plants ( Monotropaceae ) are devoid of chlorophyll, perennial herbaceous plants that occur in the northern hemisphere of the earth as belonging to the forest flora. They were up against the end of the 20th century regarded as natural descent group and managed as a separate family Monotropaceae (or as a subfamily within Monotropoideae Ericaceae ). Meanwhile, they are also with the previously classified as a separate family wintergreen family ( Pyrolaceae ) merged and were incorporated as a subfamily Monotropoideae in the heather family ( Ericacea ).

Species

The spruce asparagus plants contain ten genera with twelve kinds:

• Allotropoa virgata (west North America )
• Cheilotheca khasiana and Ch malayana ( South and East Asia )
• Hemitomes congestum (west North America )
• Monotropa hypopitys (Europe, Asia and North America) and M. uniflora (North America, Asia)
• Monotropastrum humile ( South and East Asia )
• Monotropsis odorata ( southeastern North America )
• Pityopus californicus (west North America )
• Pleuricospora fimbriolata (west North America )
• Pterospora andromedea (North America)
• Sarcodes sanguinea (west North America )

Except for Monotropa and Cheilotheca all genera are monotypic.

System

Phylogenetic analysis using molecular genetic methods have shown that it is a paraphyletic group is in the Spruce asparagus plants: the " monotropic " ( chlorophyll -less ) genera Sarcodes and Pterospora are closer with some wintergreen plants used as with the other spruce asparagus plants. They are therefore in the new subfamily Monotropoideae the tribe Pterosporeae, while all other monotropic genera are placed in the tribe Monotropeae.

Dissemination

Representatives of the spruce asparagus plants are found in coniferous and deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly those from species of beech ( Fagaceae ), willow ( Salicaceae ) and (Pinaceae ) and wing fruit plants ( Dipterocarpaceae ) are constructed.

The diversity center is eight species ( five of them endemic) in western North America. The eastern North America and (South ) East Asia have a relatively high diversity of four to five species. In Europe, however, there is only one way to spruce asparagus ( Monotropa hypopitys L.). He is with occurrence in all three continents of the cosmopolitan amongst spruce asparagus plants.

Mykotrophie

Allen spruce asparagus plants lack the characteristic of autotrophic plants chlorophyll in contrast to the wintergreen plants. The carbon compounds needed for their diet to get the plants from fungi from the class Basidiomycota. The woody partner of mycorrhiza are thus on the common Hyphennetzwerk indirectly parasitized ( Epiparasitismus ). Each genus is ( even in part kind ) specializes in a different genus or species group of Ektomykorrhizapilzen.

Ecologically can the myco - heterotrophic spruce asparagus plants summarized as " epiparasitische Monotropoideae " and distinguishing it from the myco - autotrophic former Pyrolaceae. Evolutionary is their specialized way of life but within the heather family arose independently at least twice.