Asked by: Salobrar Baeck
healthy living nutrition

How does the dodder vine find a host?

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Unable to produce its own food, the dodder vine must live entirely off a host plant. In a series of experiments, Researchers Consuelo M. De Moraes and Mark Mescher show that to find a host plant from which to drain nutrients, the parasitic plant “sniffs” out the chemical scents released by the leaves of nearby plants.


Also, how does dodder find a host?

Once a host is located, dodder begins to wind around the stem. Its diminished root system completely dies off. It then uses specialized cells called haustoria to tap into the host's vascular tissue. This is not so good for the host as it can severely weaken it, leaving it susceptible to viruses and other diseases.

Beside above, what happens to the dodder plant if it does not find a host plant? Dodder continues to grow until its host can no longer provide enough food for both itself and its parasite. At that point, the host plant will die. If the Dodder is not connected to any other host plants, it will die, too.

Consequently, how does dodder get its food?

The dodder contains no chlorophyll and instead absorbs food through haustoria; these are rootlike organs that penetrate the tissue of a host plant and may kill it. Water is drawn through the haustoria from the host plant's stem and xylem, and nutriments are drawn from its phloem.

Where does dodder grow?

The dodder can grow and attach itself to multiple plants. In tropical areas it can grow continuously, and may reach high into the canopy of shrubs and trees. In temperate climates it is an annual plant, restricted to low vegetation that can be reached by new seedlings each spring.

Related Question Answers

Oiartza Navascues

Professional

Is dodder harmful to humans?

There isn't enough reliable information to know if higher doses of dodder are safe. It might cause side effects such as stomach upset and diarrhea.

Nivaldo Bodegas

Professional

How fast does dodder grow?

When these stem pieces come in contact with new host plants, they can grow until they cover an entire tree or shrub with their thick, yellow-gold or green stems. Japanese dodder typically grows much larger and faster than other dodders that attack herbaceous plants—up to 6 inches a day.

Usue Chanin

Professional

Why was it important to remove the dodder plant from the garden?

Dodder is a parasitic plant which develops root around the host plant and obtain food from the stem or root of host plant by twining around them. Dodder lacks chlorophyll and therefore depends on host plant for food. Thus to protect other plant there is a need to remove it.

Ximo Kenning

Explainer

How do you get rid of the dodder vine?

The most effective means of control is to remove the infested plants and make sure that newly sprouting dodder seedlings are pulled out before they find another host plant. If pulling or hoeing dodder seedlings is not practical, spray them with household vinegar.

Fredrik Wecklein

Explainer

Is cuscuta and Amarbel same?

Cuscuta reflexa is a parasitic plant which belongs to family Convolvulaceae. It is commonly known as dodder plant, amarbel, akashabela. It is rootless, perennial, leafless climbing parasitic twining herb which takes food from host plant with help of special organ called haustorium.

Gigel Grotensohn

Explainer

Are dodder and cuscuta same?

Dodder is a group of ectoparasitic plants with about 150 species in a single genus, Cuscuta, in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae) or Cuscutaceae, depending on the classification system used. These plants have very thin, sting-like twining stems that appear to be leafless.

Carrodilla Zink

Pundit

What is Dodder used for?

Dodder is an herb. People use the parts that grow above the ground to make medicine. Dodder is used to treat urinary tract, spleen, and hepatic disorders.

Senador Lyhin

Pundit

Is dodder poisonous?

Golden dodder is not readily eaten by stock. It is not poisonous, but cattle and horse which are forced to eat it often develop digestive problems.

Seckou Carola

Pundit

Is cuscuta a Heterotroph?

In Chinese, cuscuta seeds are called tu si zi. Cuscuta is a parasitic plant. It has no chlorophyll and cannot make its own food by photosynthesis. Instead, it grows on other plants, using their nutrients for its growth and weakening the host plant.

Usman Flowers

Pundit

What does dodder look like?

What does dodder look like? Dodders lack roots and leaves, and also lack chlorophyll, the green pigment found in most plants. Dodders have slender, yellow-orange stems that cover infected plants in a spreading, tangled, spaghetti-like mass. From May through July, dodders produce white, pink, or yellowish flowers.

Zafar Rennie

Pundit

Is a dodder plant a parasite?

Dodder is a true obligate parasite: the host plant receives no benefit from the dodder and dodder must have a host plant to survive. Dodder appears leafless (it does have small scales) and lacks sufficient chlorophyll to produce any significant amount of its own food.

Arhimo Schneckenburger

Teacher

Why do some plants steal food from other plants?

Most plants make all the food they need by photosynthesis, but some species are parasites. They steal food from other plants, known as host plants. Parasitic plants have special suckers that may invade the host plant's food channels and draw off sugars and minerals.

Miss Spiegl

Teacher

Is Morning Glory a parasitic plant?

Cuscuta pentagona, the fiveangled dodder, is a parasitic plant in the morning glory family Convolvulaceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in the United States and Canada. Unlike the closely related C. campestris, it has not become established on other continents.

Erol Lucas Torres

Teacher

What happens if green plants are kept in dark for three or four days?

When it is kept in dark room for three days all the starch get used up. So when it kept in sunlight the plants will perform photosynthesis .

Genara Lucan

Teacher

Are parasites Autotrophs?

Parasitic plants such as dodder are in fact plants that are heterotrophs. The basic rule of biology is that organisms are classified according to their ancestry. These plants are descended from ancestors that were autotrophs, but for some reason they lost that ability and evolved to be heterotrophic parasites instead.

Vernon Sigllechner

Reviewer

How does cuscuta reproduce?

Reproduction begins with clusters of flowers that are small and white or yellow (Ombrello) needs to be pollinated. Cuscuta uses flowers to attract pollinators. The filaments are arranged around the pistil within the flower petals. The stamen's purpose is to create pollen, or microspores.

Jenelle Aldecoa

Reviewer

Why do dodder plants have no leaves?

Our species are all annuals that grow new from seed each spring. A dodder seed germinates and grows like most seeds, using its stored starch as energy. It doesn't have any green leaves, so it can't make its own food from sunlight.

Hasmik Hebrero

Reviewer

What is meant by cuscuta?

Definition of Cuscuta. : a large and widely distributed genus of twining leafless parasitic herbs (family Convolvulaceae) comprising the dodders and having whitish or yellow filamentous stems.

Dierdre Puigcerver

Reviewer

Why cuscuta is called Amarbel?

Amar bel (meaning, immortal vine) is an unusual parasitic vine related to the Morning glory family. It grows in a prolific manner over host plants ( or other support ) with inter-twined stems, giving it a common name of Devils Hair.

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29th June, 2020

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