Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a streamlined parasitic plant -- an extreme degree of genome shrinkage even among parasites. Along the way this subtropical plant developed ...

The strategies devised by plants are astonishing. What, for instance, do the following plants have in common: dodder (love vine), mistletoe, squawroot, beechdrops, pinesaps, gerardia, one-flowered ...

Some parasitic plants can ‘steal’ genetic information from their hosts through horizontal gene transfer, which they then use to make themselves a better parasite. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a ...

A dodder plant begins its life looking like a tapeworm. The tiny plant, which will never grow leaves or roots, elongates in a spindly spiral. Round and round it swirls, searching for a host plant.

The Malaysian plant Rafflesia cantleyi is a parasite, attaching itself to another plant and deriving all its food from its unfortunate host. But Rafflesia doesn’t stop there. It swipes genes from its ...

Some parasitic plants steal genetic material from their host plants and use the stolen genes to more effectively siphon off the host's nutrients. A new study reveals that the parasitic plant dodder ...

In our region there are a few fully parasitic plants, totally dependent on other plants for carbon, water, and nutrients. Some of them are not common, but we sometimes see them along the trails. They ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You might be under the impression that plants photosynthesize ...

Aristos is a Newsweek science and health reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He is particularly focused on archaeology and paleontology, although he has covered a wide variety of topics ranging ...

If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are ...