About Lysiana subfalcata (Hook.) Barlow
Lysiana subfalcata is a smooth mistletoe with no hairs on its branches, leaves, or flowers. Its leaves are oblanceolate, most often grey-green, 20–120 mm long and 4–20 mm wide, and do not always have a visible midvein. This species produces paired flowers, which have an unlobed or weakly lobed calyx and a corolla 25–50 mm long. Mature corollas are red, more rarely yellow, and sometimes have green or black tips. Its fruits are indehiscent, succulent, yellowish, 8–14 mm long, and usually pale and somewhat translucent. Lysiana subfalcata can be distinguished from other local Lysiana species in the Northern Territory by a combination of characteristics: its oblanceolate leaves, non-winged pedicels, paired flowers borne on a common peduncle, non-septate anthers, mostly red corolla tube with green or yellow lobes, and yellowish fruits that are longer than they are wide. It can be confused with Lysiana spathulata, but L. spathulata has broader leaves, septate anthers, and a slightly different host and habitat range. This mistletoe occurs in open forests and woodland. The Northern Territory flora website additionally records that it grows on rocky or gravelly ranges, hills or rises, sandplains, and along intermittent watercourses and run-on areas. Recorded major host genera differ across Australian regions: in Western Australia, major hosts are species from the genera Lysiphyllum, Eucalyptus, and Acacia; in South Australia, New South Wales, and across Australia generally, hosts are listed as species from the genera Atalaya, Heterodendrum, Bauhinia, Santalum, and the family Casuarinaceae; in the Northern Territory, recorded hosts include species of Acacia, Alectryon, Atalaya, Capparis, Eucalyptus, Grevillea, Pittosporum, Senna, and Vachellia.
