Corynaea crassa sprucei

Description

Corynaea crassa is the only species of the genus Corynaea in the family Balanophoraceae . It is a root parasite of other plant species and thrives in mountain forests of northern South America. Corynaea crassa is a yellow-brown to dark purple, fleshy root parasite. The underground, elliptical to approximately spherical tuber is of irregular lobate shape with short, cylindrical outgrowths, (rarely from 2.3) usually 4 to 6 inches long, usually 4 to 8 (2.1 to 10) inches wide and starchy. From each tuber grow one to several leafless, short or oblong cylindrical stems that carry the inflorescence. They break through the outer tissue of the tuber so that at the base of each stem, a ring or a sheath-like structure is found. Corynaea crassa thrives in mountain forests at altitudes 1250 to 3600 meters. It occurs from Costa Rica to Bolivia as well as in northwestern Venezuela