Which plants feed on other plants?

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<blockquote><p><strong>Which plants feed on other plants?</strong></p></blockquote>
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Plant eating plants

Plants which feed on dead organic matter are called ‘saprophytes’ and those which feed on plants are called parasites.Saprophytes play an important role in the decay process. They clear the land of dead animals by digesting and absorbing nutrients from the dead material. For instance all fungi and bacteria which do not contain chlorophyll fall in this group. Parasitic plants feed on other plants. They obtain water and food from the host through specially developed organs called haustoria which secure the parasite to the host and grow into the hosts tissue. Parasitic plants do not give any benefit to their hosts in anyway. The extent to which a parasite is dependent on its host largely determines its vegetative form.

Plant eating plants

True parasites such as dodders cuscuta and cassytha are entirely devoid of chlorophyll and rely entirely on the host as a food source. The dodder which is a well known parasitic plant looks like a tiny slender snake. Its clour varies from bright yellow to red. When a dodder seed germinates the young plant begain to grow in a circular fasion, searching for the mother plant. Once it gets a host the thin stem of this plant twines around the host stem amd starts taking food from the host. A well known example of a partial parasite is mistletoe which grow as a cluster of branches hanging from trees. It produces a haustorium which connects with the host stem and extracts water and mineral nutrients It can produce food by photosynthesis but needs water and mineral from trees. Mosses and lichen are also parasitic in nature. They cover the bark of the trees and take food from them. Rafflesia Arnoldii of Sumatra is also a famous parasitic plant.

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