COMRADES OF THE PLANT WORLD 
the viewpoint of this chapter, it is possible to 
believe that the host of the Dodder derives 
some spiritual or hidden material benefit from 
the union which makes it distinctly worth while. 
If such were not the case, it would seem that, 
through ages of evolutionary development, 
such plants as Flax would have devised means 
to escape the Dodder’s clutches. 
The Dodder inhabits low ground and pokes 
an inquiring head above the surface each spring 
much like any self-sustaining plant. However, 
it is not long before it attaches itself to some 
lusty neighbour by root-like suckers, which 
pierce the stem and extract the nourishing 
juices. If the supply seems adequate, the Dod- 
der winds its yellow, yarn-like tendrils about 
the host and allows the roots which connect it 
to the earth to wither. Its absorbing tuber- 
cles look like caterpillar feet; their cells form 
a perfect graft with the host and gradually 
disperse through its body. If other plants are 
near enough, the Devil’s Thread will reach 
out and tap their food supplies also. A single 
Dodder has been known to draw nourishment 
from five or six other plants of different fam- 
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