Cytinus hypocistis is an ant-pollinated[
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Description
Cytinus hypocistis is an Endophyte Parasitic plant that has no chlorophyll, external roots, leaves, or stems.
Distribution
Cytinus hypocistis is native to Albania; Algeria; Crete; Croatia; Cyprus; Greece; France (including Corsica); Palestine; Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily); Lebanon; Libya; Malta; Morocco; Portugal; Spain (including both the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands); Syria; Tunisia; and Turkey.[
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The subspecies C. h. subsp. macranthus is native to Portugal and western Spain; C. h. subsp. orientalis is native to southern Greece and Crete; and C. h. subsp. pityusensis is endemism to Ibiza of the Balearic Islands.[
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Habitat
Cytinus hypocistis lives within the roots of its host and relies on the rock-roses it infests as a source of water and nutrients.
Tenebrionid beetles ( Pimelia costata) Dispersal vector the seeds of Cytinus hypocistis by Ingestion them and then Excretion them in favourable underground germination sites.
Uses
Cytinus hypocistis has been used in traditional medicine to treat dysentery and of the throat, and has been used for its astringent qualities.
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