Have you seen that orange thread-like stuff draped over the top of plants in a salt marsh? It’s a parasitic annual plant called dodder, Cuscuta species. Dodder is capable of photosynthesis, but it ...

Parasitic weeds extract water and nutrients from their host plants. But what makes these parasites so successful? A study led by Prof Susann Wicke from the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Being a parasite isn’t all free drinks and ...

Genes that play a key role in the formation of an infectious organ used by parasitic plants have been identified by plant scientists at RIKEN. This discovery fills a gap in our understanding of how ...

Researchers have discovered the mechanism that drives the parasitic vine Cuscuta campestris to insert organs into plants after making contact with the hosts. The parasitic vine Cuscuta campestris ...

A macro photograph of a cluster of mushroom-like plants on the forest floor against a mossy backdrop. These are Balanophora fungosa ssp. fungosa from southern Okinawa Island. At the base of mossy ...

Flickr Deep in the tropical savannas and forests of Central and South America, something scarlet is pushing through the soil.

Balanophora species are parasitic plants that live underground and emerge above ground only during the flowering season — and some species even reproduce exclusively asexually. This collage shows ...

In the weird world of chlorophyll-free “fairy lantern” plants, there’s a new species to admire. By plant standards, Thismia are truly odd. Lacking chlorophyll, they eschew photosynthesis, instead ...

Dodder is an obligate parasite of certain plants. This unusual member of the morning glory family is also known as “Angel’s Hair” and “Strangle Weed.” Like Indian pipe, another parasitic plant, Dodder ...