Category Botany

We call somebody a parasite when the person takes advantage of another and uses him or her for the former’s gain and growth. A parasite lives on another organism, often a member of another species. The organism that is being exploited is known as the host.

Parasitic plants often lack roots for obtaining water. Sometimes, chlorophyll is also absent in these plants for photosynthesis. Therefore, these plants have to depend exclusively on their hosts for their sustenance. While parasites take everything from their hosts, they give nothing to them in return.

Some parasites are very choosy too. They do not stick on to every plant available. Some parasites live only on pines; whereas some others grow on junipers. However, most parasites are not fussy about their hosts. Sometimes, some parasitic plants will choose other parasites as their hosts! Mistletoe’s are sometimes found to be feeding on other Mistletoe!

 

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If you have read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, you must be familiar with vampires. They are mythical beings that suck the blood of people and then, leave them dead! Although vampires are imaginary beings and are not real, some plants have similar characteristics and that they are called vampire plants.

Vampire plants are called so because they draw food and water from other plants. The dodder is a common vampire plant. The stem of the plant stretches towards plants nearby and gets attached to them. Their stem is so slim and long that they wind around the plant. Little thread-like roots get inside the stem of the other plant. With the help of these roots, the dodder plant sucks food and water and grows.

Some common vampire plants are the Indian paintbrush and the mistletoe.

 

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Trees generally grow on dry land; many are aquatic as they are found in water too. If you think you have covered all plants, you are wrong! Plants grow on trees too!

Most of such plants are found on top of tall trees in tropical forests. The reason, however, is quite simple. Tropical rain forests are thickly populated by trees. Huge trees stay close to each other without leaving much space between them. The foliage of these huge trees blocks the sunlight and little plants on the ground do not get the rays of the sun. This makes their life difficult, as plants need sunlight for photosynthesis.

Nature has designed some plants such as orchids and Spanish moss to grow on tall trees because they can take advantage of the height of the tall trees and get sunlight. Another advantage of plants growing on trees is that their seeds, most of them very light, could be easily scattered by the wind. Now, the seeds fall mostly on nearby trees and the new plants take roots in these trees. They hang onto the trees of the rest of their life and find enough sunlight, water and food to sustain them there.

 

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The rafflesia arnoldii is a parasitic plant that lives inside the host plant for months.

So, it is rarely seen, as it gets all its nutrients from the host, which is a vine. It makes a dramatic entry into the outside world only at its flowering season.

This is the time when flowers first bud through the woody vine, and open into breath-taking magnificence.

The refflesia produces the largest single flowers in the world. The flowers can take up to ten months to develop for the first visible bud to the open bloom, which may last to more than a few days. The leathery petals can be up to a metre in width.

Although spectacularly beautiful, rafflesia flowers are unfortunately, very stinky. They smell of rooting flesh! Rafflesias are found most commonly in Sumatra, and also in primary rain forests.

The Rafflesia plant spends most of its life unseen.

 

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The yellow rattle is a semi parasitic plant. It is commonly found in meadows and grassy places.

The plant gets part of its water and nutrient requirements by parasitising the roots of grasses and other herbs.

The yellow rattle gets its name from its bright yellow flowers, and the sound of the ripe seeds rattling inside the seed-capsules.

The majority of seed ripen in mid to late July, and the rattling of the fruit within the capsules was said to indicate that the meadow was ready to be cut for hay.

Hence, the yellow rattle is also known as hay rattle. In the past this plant was a serious pest for farmers, as it weakens grasses, and as a result could reduce hay yields.

At the same time by suppressing the growth of grass, it helps other wild flowers to bloom.

 

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Banyan trees are among the most spectacular trees in the world. A fully grown banyan tree looks like a group of trees, and some of them have even 1000 trunks.

These ‘trunks’ are actually rope like roots that grow downwards from the branches. When the roots reach the ground, they anchor themselves to the soil and become individual trunks.

The tree bears fruits that look like figs. The fruits, which appear red in colour when matured, are not edible.

The dark green leaves of the tree are large and leathery. An old banyan tree can reach more than 199 metres in diameter and can be as tall as 29 metres.

Historical records say that Alexander the Great camped under a banyan tree that was large enough to provide shelter to his army of 7000 men.

The banyan tree, found in India and Sri Lanka, is considered to be as sacred tree, and is the national tree of our country. Its huge structure, deep roots, and branches symbolize the country’s unity in diversity.  

 

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