Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores

Unlike most animals, plants cannot move from one place to another in search of food.

To survive, plants gather light and nutrients by growing and adjusting their position. Plants get food through two different means: autotrophy and heterotrophy.

Autotrophic plants make their own food through photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy, which drives the production of sugars that nourish the plant.

Heterotrophic plants, however, rely on another organism for nourishment. Heterotrophs, such as the dodder vine, often lack chloroplasts and cannot make their own food.

The dodder vine is a leafless, climbing plant parasite. It absorbs nutrients from its host plant, which can harm or sometimes kill the host.

Modified root projections, called haustoria, invade the host plant’s vascular tissues and divert water and nutrients to support the parasite’s growth. Dodder can also spread to nearby plants, forming a network that supplies it with nutrients.

The staghorn fern has chloroplasts, so it is an autotroph. The staghorn fern shows a different kind of nutritional adaptation—it is an epiphyte, or “air plant,” that grows on other plants, such as trees, for physical support.

Epiphytes benefit from