Dodder is a twining parasite that wraps around other plants and draws nourishment from their stems.

The longer version

Without useful leaves or much chlorophyll, this twining plant must find a host soon after germinating. A seedling sways in a slow circle until it touches a stem, then coils around it and begins to penetrate the tissue beneath.

Specialised roots push into the host's conducting tissue and tap the flow of water, minerals, and sugars. The parasite's own connection to the soil withers away, and it becomes dependent on the plant it is wrapped around. A single individual can link several hosts together into one connected system. Because it carries little green tissue of its own, the plant is almost entirely dependent on what it takes.

Where this entry sits

Plants and Trees gathers ordinary and surprising details about how green things live, from the tallest forest giants down to the moss on a garden wall. Expect notes on flowers, seeds, roots, leaves, fungi, and the quiet tricks plants use to spread and survive. The full list sits on the Plants and Trees page, where every entry is listed in order.