Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a very streamlined parasitic plant. Balanophora is a parasitic plant found in tropical and temperate regions in Asia and tropical Africa and ...

If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Being a parasite isn’t all free drinks and ...

A macro photograph of a cluster of mushroom-like plants on the forest floor against a mossy backdrop. These are Balanophora fungosa ssp. fungosa from southern Okinawa Island. At the base of mossy ...

In the damp understory of forests in Taiwan, mainland Japan, and Okinawa, a plant called Balanophora can fool you at first glance. Its knobby flower stalks look more like a mushroom than a flowering ...

Parasitic plants are notorious agricultural pests that drain nutrients from crops and cause economic losses of more than USD 1 billion due to yield losses every year. Yet these plants almost never ...

In the dark and moist understories of the subtropical forests of Shimoshima Island in Japan grow parasitic plants that feed on the roots of other plants. They are called Balanophora, and for over a ...

On the Amami Islands of Japan, wonder blooms from a nibble and some droppings. In February 2020, an amateur naturalist named Yohei Tashiro was walking through the evergreen forests of the islands, ...

Interactions between species can have cascading effects that shape subsequent interactions. For example, herbivory can induce plant defenses that affect subsequent interactions with herbivores, ...

The world’s only wild black-furred rabbit has a very important job — distributing seeds for a parasitic plant. By Jason Bittel On the Amami Islands of Japan, wonder blooms from a nibble and some ...