Most orchid species have a symbiotic relationship with the natural fungi found in their roots. The plants provide the fungi ...

About 1% of flowering plants (around 4,000 species) are parasitic. Read on to discover 10 interesting examples of parasitic plants, where they can be found and how they steal nutrients from other ...

Revealing a sensitive germination receptor in parasitic plants brings researchers closer to eradicating a major source of African crop damage and food insecurity. From summer to autumn in sub ...

Cactus with thick, twisted stems resembling a brain. Ancient plant with long, strap-like leaves, capable of living for hundreds to thousands of years. Plant with a dark, bat-like appearance and long, ...

Some orchids stop making food and feed on fungi instead. Researchers found they do this only when conditions allow.

Researchers report the first example of large-scale RNA-based communication between species—a parasitic plant and two of its hosts. Amid cuts to federal funding, US universities tighten budgets, ...

This time-lapse video shows how the parasitic plant dodder attacks tomatoes. But beyond stealing nutrients from the host plants, a Virginia Tech researcher has discovered that the two plants also ...

However, like for other parasitic plants, Balanophora subcupularis seeds are tiny and robust, and many survive the passage through the cricket's digestive tract unharmed.

The Kobe University botanist SUETSUGU Kenji says: "I've always been intrigued by how orchids turn parasitic. Why would a plant give up its reliance on photosynthesis and instead 'steal' from fungi?" ...

In a new study, researchers discovered a key process where malarial parasites take up a human blood cell ... Feb. 19, 2025 — Why have some orchids stopped photosynthesis and become parasites ...

About 20% of Africa's sorghum crop is lost due to witchweed (Striga hermonthica), a parasitic plant that steals nutrients and water by latching onto the plant's roots. In the new study ...