“SO much, then, for the disrespectable murderer branch of the family,” he continued. “Now I will tell you about some of our thieves. We don’t approve of them any more than you would approve of a cousin who turned out to be a thief, but—well, I shall begin by telling you about—
No plant would invite such a miserable pauper as a visitor. It’s worse than any beggar you have ever known, for a beggar at least digests his own food.Not so with dodder. It is too lazy to do even that! It has therefore, no leaves. It doesn’t need them. It starts out as an honest plant baby, but soon “goes wrong,” reaching out long tendrils by which it takes hold of any convenient plant neighbor. It sends little leg-like suckers down into the stem of this plant neighbor. It lets go of the earth with its roots, and drinks the life-blood, or sap, of its host, the plant on which it has seized hold.The disgracefully lazy dodder does no work at all except to make flowers and seeds. The flowers are tiny, star-shaped, of ayellowish, greenish or white color, and each flower makes four seeds to go on to make more thieving plant babies!
No plant would invite such a miserable pauper as a visitor. It’s worse than any beggar you have ever known, for a beggar at least digests his own food.
Not so with dodder. It is too lazy to do even that! It has therefore, no leaves. It doesn’t need them. It starts out as an honest plant baby, but soon “goes wrong,” reaching out long tendrils by which it takes hold of any convenient plant neighbor. It sends little leg-like suckers down into the stem of this plant neighbor. It lets go of the earth with its roots, and drinks the life-blood, or sap, of its host, the plant on which it has seized hold.
The disgracefully lazy dodder does no work at all except to make flowers and seeds. The flowers are tiny, star-shaped, of ayellowish, greenish or white color, and each flower makes four seeds to go on to make more thieving plant babies!
“Isn’t it disgraceful!” exclaimed Bet. “Jack and I never want to associate with plants that murder and steal——”
“Not if we can help it,” said Jack, “we don’t.”
“You’ll be sorry,” he went on, “to learn that Indian pipes, too, are uninvited guests, living on food in other plant roots.”
“Oh,” said Mary Frances regretfully, “I always thought them so pretty!”
“Well, they are pretty, and dodder, even, is pretty in a way, because of its yellow color, but both are—
Parasite means “eating at another’s table.”Parasite plants are those which fasten upon other plants and steal their food.Real parasite plants lack all green color, for since they steal food already digested, what need have they for green matter (chlor-o-phyll) by means of which a plant digests its food?There are also some half parasites, which, while living partially upon stolen food, get some food for themselves.The pretty waxy Christmas mistletoe is a half parasite. You notice that it has some green coloring or chlor-o-phyll, which it uses to digest the nourishment it gathers from the air.
Parasite means “eating at another’s table.”
Parasite plants are those which fasten upon other plants and steal their food.
Real parasite plants lack all green color, for since they steal food already digested, what need have they for green matter (chlor-o-phyll) by means of which a plant digests its food?
There are also some half parasites, which, while living partially upon stolen food, get some food for themselves.
The pretty waxy Christmas mistletoe is a half parasite. You notice that it has some green coloring or chlor-o-phyll, which it uses to digest the nourishment it gathers from the air.
“My,” exclaimed Eleanor, “I’m glad it doesn’t steal all its food. That shows it’s trying to help itself. It isn’t such a ‘piggy’ as some plants!”
“Oh, not every parasite plant destroys the plant whose food it takes. Not very long ago, human beings found out that the very tiny parasite plants which fasten themselves to peas and beans and other similar plants (called Legumens) are very beneficial to them. They do steal some predigested food, but in return they give to them a much more valuable food, which they have taken from the air. This valuable food is nitrogen.
For this reason, these parasitic plants, or nitrogerms, have been gathered and grown, and are now sold under the name of ‘Cultures for Legumens.’ When applied to peas, beans, clover, etc., they cause them to grow very rapidly, and give very abundant crops.”
“How wonderful!” said Mary Frances.
Just then the fairy clock chimed four.