Corynaea crassa

Corynaea crassa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Balanophoraceae
Genus: Corynaea
Hook.f.
Species:
C. crassa
Binomial name
Corynaea crassa
Hook.f.
Synonyms

Corynabutilon crassa Hook.f.
Corynabutilon sphaerica Hook.f.
Corynaea purdiei Hook.fil.
Corynaea sphaerica Hook.fil.
Itoasia crassa (Hook.f.) Kuntze
Itoasia purdiaei (Hook.fil.) Kuntze
Itoasia sphaerica (Hook.fil.) Kuntze

Corynaea crassa, commonly known as Peruvian Viagra or huanarpo macho is a species of parasitic flowering plant in the family Balanophoraceae found in South and Central America. Described in 1856 by Joseph Dalton Hooker, it is the sole member of the monotypic genus Corynaea.

It is not specialized for a single host species, with a broad variety of plant species that can serve as a host. Across its broad distribution, it has been known to parasitize at least four separate families of plants and grow in association with various other plants depending on its location. Consisting of a single underground haustorial tuber which is physically connected to the host plant, the inflorescences emerge from the ground seasonally. In Peru, its tubers often find use in the context of folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory and aphrodisiac.

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