Santalaceae
Guides
Thesium
Rootthugs
Thesium is a genus of hemiparasitic flowering plants in the family Santalaceae, with approximately 325 species distributed primarily across Africa, Europe, and Asia. The genus is particularly diverse in South Africa, where roughly half of all species occur. Species in this genus are root hemiparasites that form haustorial connections to host plant roots. The genus has undergone taxonomic revision, with several segregate genera (Austroamericium, Chrysothesium, Kunkeliella, Thesidium) now subsumed within Thesium.