#parasiticplants — Public Fediverse posts

Dodder (Cuscuta species) seeds germinate near the soil surface and quickly start seeking a host. Using chemosensory cues, they grow toward nearby green plants—but if they don't latch on within 5 to 10 days, the seedlings die.

#ParasiticPlants #californianativeplants #nature #california #wildlife

I am not entirely sure, but believe the yellowish brown plants pictured are the non-photosynthetic parasitic plants known as bear corn (Conopholis americana).
#parasiticplants
#spring
#Springtime
#forestplants
#mosstodon

New publication: The role of #strigolactone structural diversity in the host specificity and control of #Striga, a major constraint to sub-Saharan #agriculture. #microbiome #fungi #parasiticplants #sorghum #sulfotransferase
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10549

#IndianGhostPipe - #MonotropaUniflora

Herbaceous, #perennial flowering plant.

It can't generate its own chlorophyll & is #parasitic - specifically #mycoheterotroph. Its #symbiotic #fungi hosts are in the #Russulaceae family.

Through the fungal web of #mycorrhizae, #GhostPipe roots sap food from where the host fungi are connected to the #photosynthetic #trees. Clustered node roots of this plant are covered in hairs called #cystidium. The #cystidia found on these roots allow easy attachment to #FungiHyphae. As it's not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments, like understories of forests.

#Indigenous #Cherokee peoples feature the "pipe plant" in some of their #CreationStories. The legend states that the plant was named "Indian pipe" due to a group of chiefs quarreling without resolution, while passing a pipe around during the dispute; the Great Spirit then turned the chiefs into the plant, as they should have smoked the sacred pipe after making peace with each other. The plant is said to grow wherever friends have quarreled.

Native to #PacificNorthwest & a few other areas too.

#NotAFungi #PlantIdentification #PlantLovers #ParasiticPlants #InterestingPlants #Wsanec #Saanich #PNW #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #cascadia #LearnAboutPlants #Bloomscrolling #StrangeFlowers #ForestPlants #YYJ #Nature #WildPlants #NativePlants

Guten Morgen! Was war gestern schön was hat euch gefreut? Es sind die kleinen Dinge die zählen.

Hier: Die Schuppenwurz ist eine parasitische Pflanze auf Laubbäumen. Die Pflanze lebt fast das ganze Jahr unterirdisch. Im Frühjahr wenn die Bäume austreiben sieht man die Blüten.
#diekleinendinge #lathraea #parasite #parasiticplants #Orobranche #schuppenwurz #naturephotography #Naturfoto #NatureFact

#Parasitic plant convinces hosts to grow into its own flesh—it's also an extreme example of genome shrinkage https://phys.org/news/2023-09-parasitic-convinces-hosts-fleshit-extreme.html

#Balanophora #genomes display massively #ConvergentEvolution with other extreme #holoparasites and provide novel insights into parasite–host interactions https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-023-01517-7

"unlike some other #ParasiticPlants, Balanophora induces the vascular system of their host plant to grow into a tuber, forming a unique underground organ with mixed host-parasite tissue."

@lifewithtrees Here's a patch that I found in a nearby forest. My Jack Sparrow figurine is standing with them 😊

#IndianGhostPipe #MonotropaUniflora #perennials #NativePlants #Saanich #VictoriaBC #yyj #vanisle #VancouverIsland #PNW #PacificNorthwest #nature #biodiversity #uniflora #botanical #ParasiticPlants