Epiphytes have two types of roots: clinging aerial roots which absorb nutrients from humus that accumulates in the crevices of trees and aerial roots which absorb moisture from the atmosphere. An insectivorous plant has specialized leaves to attract and digest insects. The Venus flytrap is popularly known for its insectivorous mode of nutrition and has leaves that work as traps.
The minerals it obtains from prey compensate for those lacking in the boggy low pH soil of its native North Carolina coastal plains. There are three sensitive hairs in the center of each half of each leaf. The edges of each leaf are covered with long spines.
Nectar secreted by the plant attracts flies to the leaf. When a fly touches the sensory hairs, the leaf immediately closes. Fluids and enzymes then break down the prey and minerals are absorbed by the leaf. Since this plant is popular in the horticultural trade, it is threatened in its original habitat. Learning Objectives Differentiate among the sources of plant nutrition. Key Points Some plants are parasites, which acquire all of some of their nutrients from another host plant and are, therefore, entirely dependent upon it for their survival.
Saprophytes acquire nutrients from dead matter, using enzymes to convert complex organic compounds into simpler forms from which the plant can absorb nutrients. A symbiont experiences a mutually-beneficial arrangement with a plant; both partners contribute necessary nutrients to the other. An epiphyte is a plant that grows on other plants, but is not dependent upon the other plant for nutrition; instead, it uses the other plant for physical support.
Furthermore, epiphytes are common in the temperate region. Some temperate zone epiphytes are mosses, liverworts , lichens , and algae. On the other hand, they are also common in the tropics. Some tropical epiphytes include many ferns, cacti, orchids, and bromeliads. One of the main importance of epiphytes is that they add diversity and biomass to the ecosystems while providing rich and diverse habitats for other animals, fungi, and bacteria.
They also take part in nutrient cycles. Additionally, epiphytes are good as houseplants due to their minimum requirement for soil and water. Parasites are the organisms that depend on the expenses of another organism called the host. Generally, annelids, arthropods , mollusks , nematodes , flatworms, and cnidarians are the major types of parasites. Moreover, plants, fungi, protozoa, bacteria, and viruses can also become parasites. However, they exhibit a lower organization than their host. Epiphytic interaction is a non-parasitic plant to plant interaction.
Parasites are different from epiphytes. Parasites live in or on another organism and obtain all or part of nutrients from the host organism. Hence, the host organism is negatively affected by the parasitic interaction.
The host is never benefitted by parasitism. This is the difference between epiphytes and parasites. You can download PDF version of this article and use it for offline purposes as per citation notes.
Available here. CC BY 2. Samanthi Udayangani holds a B. Degree in Plant Science, M. Your email address will not be published. Figure An Epiphytic Orchid. Figure Dodder plant — Parasitic plant. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Epiphytes vs Parasites. Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants for physical support, without obtaining benefits or causing harm to the host plant.
Parasites are organisms which live on or in other organisms and obtain nutrients from the host organisms.
This may occur with plants that are parasitic or saprophytic. Some plants are mutualistic symbionts, epiphytes, or insectivorous. Figure 1.
Note that the vines of the dodder, which has white flowers, are beige. The dodder has no chlorophyll and cannot produce its own food. A parasitic plant depends on its host for survival. Some parasitic plants have no leaves. An example of this is the dodder Figure 1 , which has a weak, cylindrical stem that coils around the host and forms suckers. From these suckers, cells invade the host stem and grow to connect with the vascular bundles of the host. The parasitic plant obtains water and nutrients through these connections.
The plant is a total parasite a holoparasite because it is completely dependent on its host.
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