Vampire plants
Some plants live like vampires.
They fasten themselves to other plants and suck food and water out of
them I
When a plant called a dodder sprouts from the ground, it stretches out
toward the nearest plant. The dodder’s stem grows toward the other plant
and slowly winds around it. The dodder pushes little threadlike roots
into the other plant’s stem. With these threads the dodder sucks food
and water out of the other plant.
Finally, the dodder breaks loose from its own root. It spends the rest
of its life wrapped around the other plant.
Mistletoe is a vampire plant, too. Mistletoe seeds are dropped on tree
trunks by birds. The seeds send roots into the tree trunk. Then the
mistletoe plant grows on the tree. The mistletoe can make some of its
own food, but it gets all its water by sucking it out of the tree.
Mistletoe is a vampire plant.
It often grows on apple trees.
When a young dodder sprouts, it begins to grow toward the nearest
plant.
The dodder wraps itself around the other plant. It gets its food and
water by sucking them out of the other plant.
Indian paintbrush is a plant that seems to be minding its own business.
But it’s a vampire, too. Its roots spread through the ground and fasten
to all the roots of other plants they can find. Then the Indian
paintbrush sucks water and some food out of the roots of all its
neighbors!
Plants that live on other plants are called parasites.
