Im talking Burmanniaceae, rafflessia etc

I would absolutely love to grow these but have never seen a source for them around here

I've never seen either for sale around here.

The reason they are not common is ...ugh... how would i explain this.....
They would need a host to...live.
Know, i know rafflesia inhabited this one type of fig tree or something(i dont remember that well...), so there is that, but it had some other relatives..
Now the rest.. feed on fungi. Those are usually more manageable...
The rest are strangleweed and mistletoe.....who are not that interesting...maybe the one inhabiting cacti
https://parasiticplants.siu.ed...
but thats all i can tell you....
i am hoping someone more versed and up to date with botany can answer this..

So a host like a mammal host?

skopjecollection said:
i am hoping someone more versed and up to date with botany can answer this..

Gina, I think we were just dismissed.

That's ok @Daisyl as a strict vegetarian of over 20 years I don;t think I could in good conscience grow a parasitic plant that needed an animal host

I'm a vegetarian too but, I don't worry about what any other plant or animal does for a living. But, I think plants are parasitic on plants and animals are parasitic on animals. Does that make you feel better?

Somewhere in there, I was thinking about Dodder, the bane of the Western desert. It starts as a free living, photosynthisizing plant until it runs into another plant. Then it roots into the stems of the host plant and cuts its connection to the earth forever.

Oo-oo! Yeast infectiions! Valley fever!

Oh, wait... do you consider yeast a plant or an animal? Valley fever is caused by a fungus - definitely more plant than animal.

I only know this....when I worked in the Burn ICU, the main killer of our patients was yeast (Candida albicans). And there were fungal and mold infections that can get into wounds that are just horrible. You would think that these are occurrences that would not happen in the USA in the modern day but I have seen some pretty horrible things

People dont clean their wounds. Even when a minor cut, i always disinfect myself...

Never underestimate the power of skin....

When we did field trips in areas with Valley Fever we were always warned to wear a dust mask in wind or dusty conditions and to watch for the symptoms later, just in case. (One of my favorite places to collect fossil shark teeth was in a really bad section.)

At my house... I have southern oak leach (Aureolaria pectinata ) and Seymeria cassioides, and agalinis purpurea... all are considered "hemi parasitic"... and... I have had zero luck in growing them from seed... and I'm not even going to attempt to transplant!

On the other hand... someone posted a gorgeous picture of a "rare" plant (in the plant id forums), that grew in the tomato patch... Turned out to be a broom rape... and apparently invasive...
The thread "rare plant" in Plant ID forum

Re: Dodder and mistletoe... we have those around here too... Can't imagine anyone deliberately growing either of those... Although... both are supposed to be medicinal.

Edit: re animals as hosts...
Maybe research "devils claws" some theories about how some of them kill the animal they hook and use it as a fertilizer source!

That was good advice. A cousin died of lung cancer years after getting Valley Fever. It left her with lesions on her lungs.

sumire said:Never underestimate the power of skin....

It keeps stuff out and it keeps stuff in.

Biology lessons a la Dr. Seuss.

Seriously though, I've never really heard of parasitic plants being grown in cultivation. It is probably an issue with mastering the correct conditions.

It is a pity though, this area has pine drops (Pterospora), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja) and snow plants (Sarcodes) and they only appear in your yard on accident. I know of people who have tried with the paintbrush but no success stories.

I may be wrong, but aren't most fungus parasitic plants? I'm thinking mushrooms, penicillin, insulin?

Of course, fungi are not plants at all, but we know what you're getting at. Most mushroom type fungi invade the dead parts of plants. Definitely one sees them on old rotting logs, roots, or just good compost. When you see a shelf fungus, for instance, growing out of a live tree, it's not feeding on the live parts, it's mycelia (equivalent of roots, I suppose) colonize the xylem wood, which is dead.

I don't know about other types.

I think Skopjecollection was thinking bigger and bolder. Did you look at photos of the Rafflesia? Biggest flower in the world!

Indian Paint Brush is sold by a lot of places but, the ones who are honest also say to plant certain plants along with the Indian Paint Brush to act as host plants. Even so, I've not heard any success stories.

Around my neighborhood, the Paint Brush is always associated with native grasses so, once a house is built, the Paint Brush is gone with the grasses. I would have to go someplace with trees to see pinedrops and snow plants.

Gina, On the topic of plants parasitic on mammals, do Chia Pets count?

Ok! You made the point...those are NOT plants. The only parasitic plants that survive in my zone are mistletoe and dodder. We have the ones you mention at the higher elevations though. I didn't realize that Indian Paintbrush was parasitic. Thank you for the education!