Taking Over Most plants have leaves, roots, and a stem. Dodder has no roots or leaves. It’s all stem. Without leaves, most plants cannot


make food. Without roots, they can’t take water and nutrients from the soil. Still, the dodder has a way to survive. Like many plants, dodder sprouts


from the ground. Its new stem creeps upward. It looks for a host, or a plant to grow on. T at’s because dodder is a parasite. It lives on and gets its food from another plant. It must find a host within 10 days, or it’ll die. Once dodder finds a host, it wraps


Wordwise


leaf: the main plant part needed to make food


root: the part of a plant that attaches it to the ground and draws water and nutrients from the soil


seed: a part of a plant from which a new plant can grow


stem: the main body or stalk of a plant


its stem around the other plant. Tiny bumps on its stem push into the host plant’s stem. T e dodder pulls the nutrients it needs from the host plant. T e dodder’s roots die. Now, it needs only the host plant to survive.


Plants and Their Parts Dodder wraps its stems. Loosestrife spreads its roots. A sundew flings its leaves. Like all plants, these plants use their parts to survive. Unlike most plants, though, they


use their parts in unusual ways. For these plants, that’s normal. Aſt er all, it’s all about staying alive.


OCTOBER 2014 15


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