leafless, twining, parasitic plant
belongs to morning glory family (Convolvulaceae).
The genus
contains about 170 twining species that are widely distributed
throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the worldThe dodder plant contains has been found to have very little amount of chlorophyll and instead absorbs
food through haustoria.
are root like structures that penetrate the tissue
of a host plant and may kill it. The slender, string like stems of the dodder
may be yellow, orange, pink, or brown in colour. It’s leaves are reduced to
minute scales.
The dodder’s flowers, in nodule like clusters, are made up of
tiny yellow or white bell-like petals.
The dodder’s seed germinates, forming an anchoring root, and then
sends up a slender stem that grows in a spiral fashion until it reaches a
host plant.
It then twines around the stem of the host plant and forms
haustoria, which penetrate through it. Water is drawn through the haustoria
from the host plant’s xylem, and nutrients are drawn from its phloem.
Meanwhile, the root rots away after contact has been made with a host
stem. As the dodder grows, it sends out new haustoria (parasitic roots) and
establishes itself very firmly on the host plant. After growing in a few
spirals around one host shoot, the dodder finds its way to another, and it
continues to twine and branch until it resembles a fine, densely tangled
web of thin stems enveloping the host plant. Identify plants in your
surroundings which are parasitic on other plants.
Human digestive system is very
complex in nature.
Different parts are
involved and perform different functions by
using various digestive juices and enzymes.
Let us observe the figure of digestive
system.
The alimentary canal is basically a long
tube extending from the mouth to the anus.
We can see that this tube has different parts.
Various regions are specialized to perform
different functions.
What happens to the food once it enters
our body