About Quinchamalium chilense Molina
Quinchamalium chilense is a herbaceous, hemiparasitic perennial plant that grows from a rhizome. Smaller rootlets with haustoria grow from this rhizome, and a number of rarely-branching stems grow from it each year. These stems can be decumbent (creeping along the ground) or grow to over 2 metres in height. Flowers form in clusters at the tips of stems, they are pentamerous and typically orangey-yellow. This species is extremely variable in height, flower size, and flower colour; so much variation existed that 21 separate species were once recognized, but all of these were reduced to synonymy with Q. chilense in 2015. It is heterostylous, meaning some individuals produce 'thrum flowers' which have short styles. The presence of thrum flowers is somewhat correlated with higher elevation and colder temperatures. Leaf shape also varies between individuals, and plants with narrower leaves are correlated with higher temperatures. Overall plant size appears correlated with annual precipitation. This species has unusual embryos that act as parasites on the mother plant even before pollination occurs. When the embryo develops inside the ovule, the two synergid cells elongate into tubes that penetrate through the micropyle and grow roughly one third of the way up the style. There, they form haustoria, which are organs used to draw nutrients from a host. The embryo also forms a lateral pouch-like caecum near its chalazal end, which extends into the basal region of the funiculus. This rare developmental pattern is also known to occur in pampas grasses of the genus Cortaderia and some species of the genus Olax. As noted earlier, individuals of this species can bear thrum flowers or pin flowers, which differ in style length and form, and many individuals have both flower types. In most heterostylous plants, this trait is linked to self-incompatibility, but in Q. chilense both flower forms are bisexual and self-fertile. Even so, smaller pin flowers tend to produce more pollen and have a higher seed set. It is thought that this variation in flower size is likely tied to some kind of pollinator relationship, but the exact details of this are still unknown. In Patagonian steppe habitat along the upper course of the Biobío River in Chile's Araucanía Region, where scattered Araucaria araucana trees grow, Quinchamalium chilense is a dominant plant species alongside Festuca scabriuscula, Poa obvalata, and Adesmia emarginata. This habitat is a cold region located at 1,500m altitude, with a one to two month dry season, occasional heavy rains, and temperatures that can drop below freezing. The fly Mitrodetus dentitarsis has been recorded visiting the flowers of this species in Chile, along with visiting the flowers of other plants. In southern Chile, this plant is used in folk medicine.
