Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical coastal

Range

Worldwide

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

This parasitic vine tangles around tropical shrubs to steal their nutrients. It lacks true roots and uses specialized suckers to pierce the stems of host plants.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Laurales

Family

Lauraceae

Genus

Cassytha

Species

Cassytha filiformis