Dodder is a parasitic plant that attaches itself to wild plants, including California sage scrub. It is classified as an ...

Parasitic weeds are ruthless freeloaders, stealing nutrients from crops and devastating harvests. But what if farmers could trick these invaders into self-destructing? Scientists at UC Riverside think ...

Strigolactones are a class of carotenoid‐derived phytohormones that play a pivotal role in regulating plant architecture and mediating interactions with both symbiotic organisms and parasitic plants.

Have you seen that orange thread-like stuff draped over the top of plants in a salt marsh? It’s a parasitic annual plant called dodder, Cuscuta species. Dodder is capable of photosynthesis, but it ...

At first glance, Orobanche ramosa looks like an interesting blossoming plant, one that could add a unique flair to flower arrangements. But it’s a parasitic weed that attaches to roots, sucks out ...

Most plants are autotrophs because they make their own food by photosynthesis. But for every rule there is an exception. Some plants are non-photosynthetic and parasitic, obtaining their food through ...

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 ...

The Christmas holiday season would not be complete without a dangling of mistletoe under the doorway. Traditionally, mistletoe is used to decorate the doorway, leading visitors inside to beautiful ...

Galls are small, tumor-like growths formed on plants that act as incubators for oak gall wasp larvae. Parasitic wasps often lay their own eggs in these galls, which later feed on their victims. North ...