If you ever find yourself staring at a tangle of orange spaghetti in a grassland, it’s probably a dodder plant. These talented, strange parasites have no leaves or roots, but plenty of other tricks to make sure that they succeed. Learn about plant communication systems, haustoria, plus a bonus fun tale of a maiden in a prairie looking for love.

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Primary Sources: Be sure to check out photos and more at our site!

• 1. How to Manage Pests: Dodder. University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources.
• Penn State. 2018. Agricultural parasite takes control of host plant’s genes. Science X Network.
• Shen, G., Liu, N., et at. 2020. _Cuscuta australis_ (dodder) parasite eavesdrops on the host plants’ FT signals to flower. PNAS 117(3).
• Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. 2017. Dodder: A parasite involved in the plant alarm system. Science Daily.

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