Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a very streamlined parasitic plant. Balanophora is a parasitic plant found in tropical and temperate regions in Asia and tropical Africa and ...

If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are ...

Aotearoa's only parasitic plant has been rediscovered in Wainuiomata, after wild populations of the species were thought to be extinct from the region for more than a century. Te pua o te Rēinga, also ...

The ecology of hemiparasitic plants, which retain photosynthetic capability while extracting water and nutrients from their hosts, represents a dynamic field that bridges plant physiology, community ...

Two parasitic plants in a new study are losing genes related to photosynthesis and other plant functions as they continue their food-sucking habits. By Laura Baisas Published Sep 21, 2023 11:00 AM EDT ...

Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a streamlined parasitic plant -- an extreme degree of genome shrinkage even among parasites. Along the way this subtropical plant developed ...