PARASITIC PLANTS. 181 



on the roots of the Beech. It has a seed without 

 cotyledons or distinction of root and stem. The 

 seedling is a thread which grows downwards till 

 it comes in contact with a root on which it fastens. 

 It is unable to take its food from the soil. Fig. 

 45, g to m, represents the seedling of a Broom- 

 rape (Orobanche epithymum), a European member 

 of this family. When the seedling fastens on the 

 root it thickens and becomes knotty and warty. 

 In England there are eight species of Broom-rapes, 

 which grow on the roots of Broom, Clover, Hemp, 

 etc. They injure the clover fields by stealing the 

 nourishment from the roots of the plants. 



There are a great many of these brown, yellow, 

 or flesh-colored parasites in tropical countries. The 

 largest flower in the world is said to belong to a 

 parasitic plant, Eafflesia Arnoldi. It is a yard 

 across. It lives in Sumatra on the roots of a kind 

 of vine. 



The English Mistletoe is a good example of a 

 wholly parasitic plant. The bright white berries 

 are very attractive to birds, who eat them freely. 

 The hard seeds are not digested by the birds and 

 fall on the trees, where they soon germinate if the 

 situation suits them. They are especially fond of 

 the Black Poplar (Populus nigra). The occurrence 



