Suckers Attach to Roots to Absorb Nutrients

small petals and stems of the deep red cynomorium seen in macro image

Biological Strategy

Scarlet synomorium

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Attach Permanently

A living system can conserve energy by attaching permanently to a particular site because it can take advantage of resources that come its way, rather than expending energy to move to resources. A permanent attachment, intended to last the lifetime of the living system, creates special challenges. For example, physical mechanisms, such as the anchor that holds a marine algae to the ocean’s bottom, must be able to withstand forces that can pull it off its substrate. Chemical mechanisms, such as a barnacle’s glue, must avoid both physical and chemical breakdown, such as being dissolved by water.

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Flowering Plants

Clade Angiosperms (“receptacle seed”): Dandelions, oaks, grasses, cacti, apples

With 416 families containing some 300,000 known species, angiosperms are the most diverse group of plants, and they can be found around the globe in a wide variety of habitats. They are characterized by seeds that grow enclosed in ovaries, which are enclosed in flowers. The floral organs then develop into fruits of myriad kinds and dimensions, from simple seed casings on maples to elaborate fleshy growths like papayas. The oldest flower known from fossils, Montsechia vidalii, appeared during the Jurassic Period 130 million years ago. They are the primary food source for herbivorous animals, which in turn makes them the indirect food source for carnivores as well.

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Suckers of the Maltese fungus attach to the roots of other plants to extract nutrients

“On top of a tiny pillar of rock standing in the sea just off the Maltese island of Gozo grows one of the rarest of all Mediterranean plants. It is called locally the Maltese fungus. In fact it is not a fungus but a true flowering plant. Most of its life is spent underground, drawing its nourishment from the roots of tamarisk or sea lavender. At this stage it consists of no more than a stem from which sprout the many suckers that attach it to the roots of its host.” (Attenborough 1995:234)

Last Updated May 17, 2018

References

Book

The Private Life of Plants

21/08/1995 | David Attenborough

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