Bizarre Plants That Quit Photosynthesis Still Find a Way to Thrive

Bizarre Plants That Quit Photosynthesis Still Find a Way to Thrive

A bizarre group of underground plants shows how life can thrive even after abandoning sunlight and sex. Not all plants are green or rely on sexual reproduction, and these exceptions can reveal surprising insights into what it really means to be a plant. A new study involving researchers from Kobe University focused on the genus [...]

Researchers find how plants survive without sunlight or sex

Balanophora species show extreme plastid reduction while still depending on plastids for essential metabolism. Their repeated evolution of asexual seed production helps them thrive in scattered forest environments.A mysterious parasitic plant lineage reveals just how far evolution can bend the rules of plant life.Source:Kobe UniversitySummary:The study reveals how Balanophora plants function despite abandoning photosynthesis and, in some species…