Question

Which of the following is a parasitic plant?
A. Venus flytrap
B. Pitcher plant
C. Dodder plant
D. Jasmine

Answer 1

Hint: Parasites fed on the nutrients already digested by other living things. Parasitic gets its nutrition from the host organism. Host is the plant on which it climbs for food. Parasitic plant receives readymade food from the host plant.

Complete Answer:
- Important parasitic plants are dodder, corpse flower, mistletoe, western Australian Christmas tree, cactus mistletoe.
- Dodder is the holoparasitic plants of jujubee, mango, and crop plants. After the dodder agglutinates itself to any plant, it wraps itself around it. If the host has food beneficial to the dodder, the dodder makes hautoria that insert themselves into the vascular system of the host.
- Dodders are non- chlorophyll bearing, leafless, twining parasitic seed plants which attach their yellow, orange or pink thread- like stems to the stem or other parts of the cultivated or wild plants. They may be single but they are mostly conspicuous as tangled masses of intertwining stems.
- Dodder can be controlled by preventing its introduction into the field by the use of dodder free seed, limiting the movement of domestic animals, restricting the flow of irrigation water, avoiding the dodder infested cattle fodder.

Thus, the option (C) is correct.

Note: Horticultural is the agriculture of plants, mostly used for foods, materials, comfort and decorations. Parasitic plants do not require soil. Host plants are resistant to insects as a conventional approach and phenomenon of interrelationship between host plants and affected by environmental factors.