Full parasites
Full parasites ( holoparasites , also called full parasites ) are parasitic flowering plants ( phytoparasites ) that are completely dependent on their host plants for their diet . They lack the leaf green necessary for the independent production of organic carbon compounds ("sugar") , their leaves are severely receded or completely absent. With the help of special suction organs ( haustoria ) they penetrate the pathways ( phloem , rarely also xylem ) of their hosts in order to remove all essential substances from them.
In contrast to semi-parasites ( hemiparasites ), full parasites are often strictly host-specific, that is, they parasitize only on one plant species or on a few closely related species.
Examples of parasitic parasites in the Central European flora are the summer root and silk species or the scaled root ( bleeding sap parasites or xylem parasites ).
literature
- Daniel L. Nickrent, Lytton J. Musselman: Introduction to Parasitic Flowering Plants . In: The Plant Health Instructor . 2004, doi : 10.1094 / PHI-I-2004-0330-01 . (very good, illustrated introduction)
- Daniel L. Nickrent: Parasitic Plants of the World . ( Archived PDF ( Memento of May 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ); 4.16 MB) In: JA López-Sáez, P. Catalán & L. Sáez (eds.): Plantas parásitas de la Península Iberica e Islas Baleares . Mundi-Prensa Libros, SA, Madrid 2002, pp. 7-27.
- Malcolm C. Press & Jonathan D. Graves: Parasitic Plants . Chapmann & Hall, London 1995, ISBN 0-412-37120-0 .
- Hans Christian Weber: Parasitism of flowering plants . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1993, ISBN 3-534-10529-X .
- Hans Christian Weber: Schmarotzer: Plants that live on others . Belser, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-7630-1834-4 .
- Job Kuijt: The Biology of Parasitic Flowering Plants . University of California Press, Berkeley 1969.
- Theodor Schmucker: Higher Parasites . In: W. Ruhland (Ed.): Handbuch der Pflanzenphysiologie, Volume XI: Heterotrophie . Springer-Verlag, Berlin 1959, pp. 480-529.
Web links
- The Parasitic Plant Connection (overview of the orders and families of parasitic flowering plants; with photos)
- Wayne P. Armstrong: Parasitic Flowering Plants. Flowering Plants That Live On Other Plants. In: Wayne's Word. Retrieved July 12, 2020 (English, general introduction with a focus on California).
- "Parasitic Plants" in the Biology Study Guide (brief overview by Daniel Nickrent)
- Parasitic Plant Database (nomenclature database)
- The International Parasitic Plant Society