Question

An example of a parasitic plant that is also strictly epiphytic is
A) Cuscuta (dodder)
B) Viscum(mistletoe)
C) Rafflesia
D) Orobanche

Answer 1

Hint: Plants are the organisms which are able to synthesize their food by a process called photosynthesis where they utilize the natural resources such as sunlight and water, they produce food, where the formed food is stored in different parts of the plants to utilize it for future use.

Complete answer:
So in order to know the answer first get the proper understanding of the terms parasitic plants and epiphytes.
Parasitic plants are the one which cannot prepare their own food, so they depend on the other plants for the food, to derive it plants, so for that they invade their stem or roots of the plants, so they indaving stem means they are complete parasites they obtain nutrition and water both, and some plants invade the roots of the host plant, as they penetrate only into roots, So they obtain only water and minerals, the examples of the parasitic plants are cuscuta and orobanche, so this Both are wrong option.
Epiphytes are the plants which grow on the other bigger plants but they do not depend on food and water as they can prepare their own food by photosynthesis. Example for this viscum, so it is the correct option.
Some plants like rafflesia are also epiphytes but they are unable to prepare their food so they depend on food on their host plant, so rafflesia is the wrong option.
So the parasitic plant that is strictly epiphytic is visicum.

So, the correct option is B.

Note: In case of parasitic plants which completely depend on the host, those plants die, if the host dies, as they can’t prepare their own food, but epiphytes are not like that they just grow on the bigger plants, and do not depend for anything on the growing plant.