106 
PLANT STUDIES 
that of the banyan tree, whose wide-spreading branches 
are supported by prop roots, which are sometimes very 
numerous (see Fig. 101). The immense banyans usually 
illustrated are 
especially culti- 
vated as sacred 
trees, the prop 
roots being as- 
sisted in pene- 
trating the soil. 
There is record 
of such a tree in 
Ceylon with 350 
large and 3,000 
small prop roots, 
able to cover a 
village of 100 
huts. 
69. Parasites. 
Besides roots 
related to soil, 
water, air, and 
various mechani- 
cal supports, 
there are others 
related to hosts. 
A host is a liv- 
ing plant or 
animal upon 
which some 
other plant or 
animal is living 
as a parasite. 
The parasite gets its supplies from the host, and must be 
related to it properly. If the parasite grows upon the 
surface of its host, it must penetrate the body to obtain 
FIG. 102. A dodder plant parasitic on a willow twig. The 
leafless dodder twines about the willow, and sends out 
sucking processes which penetrate and absorb. After 
STRASBUBGER. 
