Apteria is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Burmanniaceae, order Dioscoreales, within the monocot class Liliopsida. It was first described as a genus in 1834 by Thomas Nuttall and contains a single known species, Apteria aphylla, commonly called the nodding-nixie.
Unlike most plants, Apteria aphylla is achlorophyllous — it contains no chlorophyll and cannot photosynthesize. Instead it is a mycoheterotroph, obtaining water and nutrients entirely through associations with soil fungi. This unusual lifestyle is reflected in its inconspicuous, scale-like leaves and its dependence on forest-floor fungal networks.
The plant is a perennial herb that emerges and blooms from September to November. Its slender stems reach about 250 mm (10 inches) in height, bearing flowers that are either fully purple or white with purple markings. The fruit is a small capsule. The genus is native to the southern United States (eastern Texas to southern Georgia and Florida), Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America, occurring in moist, shaded forest habitats throughout this range.
Distribution
Apteria aphylla, the sole species of this genus, is native to the southern United States (eastern Texas east to southern Georgia and Florida), Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America. It grows in moist, shaded forest understories throughout this range.
Ecology
Apteria aphylla is a mycoheterotrophic plant — it lacks chlorophyll entirely and obtains all of its carbon and nutrients by parasitizing soil fungi rather than by photosynthesis. It inhabits shaded forest floors where the appropriate fungal partners are present, typically within humid tropical and subtropical woodlands across its American range.
Taxonomy Notes
The genus Apteria was first described in 1834 by Thomas Nuttall and is placed in the family Burmanniaceae, order Dioscoreales. It is monotypic, containing only Apteria aphylla. Burmanniaceae is a pantropical family of mostly achlorophyllous, mycoheterotrophic herbs; Apteria is one of several genera in the family that have completely lost photosynthetic capacity.
