Scientific American Supplement, No. 430, March 29, 1884

Scientific American Supplement, No. 430, March 29, 1884

The genus Cuscuta contains quite a number of species which go under the common name of dodder, and which have the peculiarily of living as parasites upon other plants. Their habits are unfortunately too well known to cultivators, who justly dread their incursions among cultivated plants like flax, hops, etc. All parasitic plants, or at least the majority of them, have one character in common which distinguishes them at first sight. In many cases green matter is wanting in their tissues or is hidden by a livid tint that strikes the observer. Such are the Orobanchacc, or "broomropes," and the tropical Balanophorace. Nevertheless, other parasites, such as the mistletoe, have perfectly green leaves. However this may be, the naturalist's attention is attracted every time he finds a plant deprived of chlorophyl, and one in which the leaves seem to be wanting, as in the dodder that occupies us. In fact, as the majority of parasites take their nourishment at the expense of the plants upon which they fasten themselves, they have no need, as a general thing, of elaborating through their foliar organs the materials that their hosts derive from the air; in a word, they do not breathe actively like the latter, since they find the elements of their nutrition already prepared in the sap of their nurses. The dodders, then, are essentially parasites, and their apparent simplicity gives them a very peculiar aspect. Their leaves are wholly wanting, or are indicated by small, imperceptible scales, and their organs of vegetation are reduced to a stem and filiform branches that have obtained for them the names of Cheveux de Venus (Venus' Hair) and Cheveux du Diable (devil's hair) in French, and gold thread in English. Because of their destructive nature they have likewise been called by the unpoetic name of hellweed; and, for the reason that they embrace their host plants so closely, they have been called love weed and love vine. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 8484
Author: Various
Release Date: Jul 1, 2005
Format: eBook
Language: English