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An overview of the parasitic plant Langsdorffia
- kanobo 6y agoLearning that it's one of a kind and so unique makes me want to eat it and know how it tastes.
- jonplackett 6y agoAnd that’s why there are no dodos.
- kanobo 6y agoThat's actually a common misconception, there's no evidence that they were eaten to extinction and there is some evidence that suggests early settlers thought they weren't worth eating because they aren't tasty.
- pvaldes 6y agoMaybe soapy-sweet. Most probably dissapointed if we take in mind that the native species of Langsdorffia distributed from Mexico to Perú, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil have zero impact in american kitchen (as far as I know). If nobody is eating it, and nobody is using it as a drug, there must be a reason. It has probably a low value to humans. Could be used as a dye so maybe your teeth could take a permanent nice red colour.
- kitd 6y agoThis reads like some of the plants are male and some female. I know most have male and female parts, but is it common in the plant kingdom to have separate genders? Edit: also S. America, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea is an incredibly wide but sparse distribution.
- baddox 6y agoThe topic to look into is dioecy. Most plants have individuals with both male and female reproductive organs, but there are exceptions. Also, it’s worth noting that the terms “male” and “female” are used differently for plants than for animals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioecy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioecy
- pvaldes 6y agoIs common and widespread, yes. I can name Asparagus, Holly, Kiwi and Yew.
- kace91 6y ago>The researchers suggest the biology of the plant is so unique that it challenges the notion of plants and what they are. They conclude by suggesting Langsdorffia is unlike any other plant in existence, and because so very little is known about it, more work is required But what is unique and different about it? Maybe it's my ignorance of biology but I feel the article didn't explain that. I mean, the article did describe the plant but not which of its characteristics are unique.
- stinos 6y agoGood question. There's quite a bunch of other parasitic plants (and more often then not they don't look like any other plants at all, also since most lack any green color), but even though this one does look kinda special the properties described all seem to occur in other parasitic plants (as far as I'm aware).
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- AlotOfReading 6y agoOnly a casual acquaintance with parasitic plants, but the paper says > All species of Langsdorffia are highly modified parasites comprising just a series of tubers and inflorescences, and lack an ordinary stem structure and all trace of functional apical meristems. The Balanophoraceae more broadly feature a particularly complicated host-parasite vascular interface, in which the parasitic tuber appears to engulf the host plant's roots the vascular tissues of which infiltrate the parasite tissue extensively. Interestingly, all Balanophoraceae appear to lack stomata entirely, which is highly unusual in the plant kingdom beyond submerged aquatics. Additionally, they can parasitize a wide range of hosts. Most parasites are very host specific. Another interesting genus along similar lines is Pholisma, which is also not present in conservation collections and native to a very threatened environment.
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- 8bitsrule 6y agoNo leaves? Brings to mind private equity firms ... and other vampire squids.