Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a very streamlined parasitic plant. Balanophora is a parasitic plant ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 led by researchers at Penn State and ...

Researchers from Japan uncovered how glucosylation of lignin-derived signals enables parasitic plants to avoid attacking themselves and related plants Ikoma, Japan—Parasitic plants are notorious ...

This article was originally published by Knowable Magazine. Mistletoe is more than just a Yuletide kissing attraction; it plays a hugely important role in ecosystems. It is a parasitic plant—it takes ...

For most of their lives, plants in the Sapria genus are barely anything — thin ribbons of parasitic cells winding inside vines in Southeast Asian rainforests. They become visible only when they ...

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.

Parasitic dodders use outgrowths called haustoria to leech water and nutrients from their host plants. Jingxiong Zhang, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Parasitic ...

Two parasitic plants in a new study are losing genes related to photosynthesis and other plant functions as they continue their food-sucking habits. By Laura Baisas Published Sep 21, 2023 11:00 AM EDT ...