Question

Which of the following is a total root parasite?
A) Cuscuta
B) Rafflesia
C) Santalum
D) Monotropa

Answer 1

Hint: In several plant families, parasitic plants exist, suggesting that evolution becomes polyphyletic. Some families primarily consist of parasitic members, like Balanophoraceae, while some have only a few members.

Complete Answer:
Parasitic properties of plants from which another living plant receives any or more of its nutritional requirements. They comprise about 1% of angiosperm and are present in almost every habitat. All parasitic plants have altered roots, named haustoria, which invade the host plant, connecting the xylem, the phloem, or both to the conductive system.

Now, let us find the solution from the options-
1) Cuscuta is the total stem parasite which invades the host stem. Thus, option A is not the correct option.

2) Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world, is a complete root parasitic found on the seashores of Sri lanka and Java. Rafflesia is recognized as the parasite queen, which develops on members of the Vitaceae family. Other common examples of complete root parasites include Striga and Orobanche.

3) Santalum is a woody flowering plant genus, from which the Indian sandalwood tree is the main form and commercially important. Most of those are root parasites that photosynthesize their own nutrition, but for water and inorganic nutrients, they use the roots of other organisms. Thus option C is not the correct option.

4) Monotropa is a herbaceous perennial vine, also known as ghost plant or Indian pipe, indigenous to temperate regions of Asia, northern South America and North America, but with wide differences between regions. Thus, option D is not the correct option.

Thus, the correct answer is option (B) Rafflesia.

Note: In some processes, parasitic plants germinate. This may be mechanical or chemical and whether or not the parasites are stem parasites or root parasites also relies on the means used by seeds. Since their seeds are restricted in the amount of food required to live without nutrition from their host plants, most parasitic plants ought to germinate in close proximity to their host plants.