what is parasitic nutrition? PARASITIC PLANTS AND THEIR NUTRITION.
As we learnt earlier that parasitism is an association in which an organism called the parasite though different from the partner called HOST but feeds directly off its host thereby causing harm to the host.
So without a host, there is no parasitism in place.
So if parasitic nutrition in animals involves two organisms of different species, then there is also what we call parasitic nutrition in plant, and plants are also living things.
So then what is parasitic nutrition in plants?
Parasitic nutrition in plants is a type of nutrition in plants in which a PRIMARY PLANT Lives on another secondary host for survival and feeding.
TYPES OF PARASITIC PLANTS
i. CASSYTHA FILIFORMIS (DODDER) Cassytha is a thin, thread-like stem which normally coils around the stem of another plant.
At intervals, Cassytha sends out suckers which grow through the stem of the host until it reaches the phloem tissue of the host from which it absorbs manufactured food from the host.
Cassytha is regarded as a complete parasite because it absorbs already-made food from its host.
Cassytha has no roots,
Cassytha has no chlorophyll hence it cannot manufacture its own food. Read more on photosynthesis here
ii. MISTLETOE: the Mistletoe is a type of parasitic plant commonly found growing on another plant, called the host. Mistletoe is photosynthetic which means it has green leaves and can synthesize its own food.
iii. However it is described as a partial parasite because its roots only penetrate into the xylem tissues of the host where it only absorbs water to enable it to manufacture its own food through the process called photosynthesis.
PARASITIC PLANTS AND THEIR NUTRITION
As we learnt earlier that parasitism is an association in which an organism called the parasite though different from the partner called HOST but feeds directly off its host thereby causing harm to the host.
So without a host, there is no parasitism in place.
Most plants are autotrophs and produce their own carbon compounds through photosynthesis. Although some plants such as Indian pipe (Monotropa) lack chlorophyll and appear to be parasitic,
they are mycoheterotrophic (parasites of mycorrhizal fungi) and, hence, only indirectly parasitize the trees on which the mycorrhizal fungi are found.
Here we define a parasitic plant as an angiosperm (flowering plant) that directly attaches to another plant via a haustorium.
A haustorium is a specialized structure that forms a morphological and physiological link between the parasite and host (Figure 2) (Kuijt 1969, Yoshida et al. 2016).
It is useful to make a distinction between the terms “parasite” and “pathogen.” The parasite is from the Greek para (beside) and sites (grain or food) which literally means “beside the food”.
If a plant also induces disease symptoms in a host, then it is a pathogen as well as a parasite.
A general term that refers to both parasites and mycotrophs that derive carbon from sources other than their own photosynthesis is heterotrophic, which simply means “different feeding.”
So if parasitic nutrition in animals involves two organisms of different species, then there is also what we call parasitic nutrition in plants, and plants are also living things.
So then what is parasitic nutrition in plants?
Parasitic nutrition in plants is a type of nutrition in plants in which a PRIMARY PLANT Lives on another secondary host for survival and feeding.
TYPES OF PARASITIC PLANTS
iv. CASSYTHA FILIFORMIS (DODDER) Cassytha is a thin, thread-like stem which normally coils around the stem of another plant.
At intervals, Cassytha sends out suckers which grow through the stem of the host until it reaches the phloem tissue of the host from which it absorbs manufactured food from the host.
Cassytha is regarded as a complete parasite because it absorbs already-made food from its host.
Cassytha has no roots,
Cassytha has no chlorophyll hence it cannot manufacture its own food
v. MISTLETOE: the Mistletoe is a type of parasitic plant commonly found growing on another plant, called the host. Mistletoe is photosynthetic which means it has green leaves and can synthesize its own food.
vi. However it is described as a partial parasite because its roots only penetrate into the xylem tissues of the host where it only absorbs water to enable it to manufacture its own food through the process called photosynthesis.
Originally posted 2021-12-14 12:01:07.