Heterotrophic Nutrition in Plants (Class IX)

Amarbel is an example of the parasite. Cuscuta reflexa is the botanical name for the amarbel. It is also known as giant dodder. It grows in a creative manner over host plants and this species has the capability of producing numerous branches within a short period of time. Since it is a parasitic plant, so it depends on host plants for food. Over haustoria, amarbel provide communication with its host plants. Amarbel is widely used in the treatment for a headache, labour pain, bone fracture, fever and rheumatism. 

Saprophytes are organisms that obtain their nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter, which is considered non-living material in an environmental context.

Balanophora is a total root parasite because it sucks nutrients and water from the roots of host plants like cabbage etc for its survival. In turn, it causes harm to the host.

A. Arceuthobium also called dwarf mistletoe, is a parasitic plant growing on pine etc. Its length is about 5mm-8mm. It is the smallest parasitic angiosperm known till date.

A plant which depends on its host for only water and nutrients, but not sugars is a partial parasite. They do not depend on the host for food as they are usually chlorophyllous, so they are able to photosynthesize. 

Utricularia is also called as bladderwort because a part of the leaf is modified into a bladder like structure for catching small animals. It is a total root parasite because it is rootless and cannot prepare its own food.

A. Aldrovanda is the botanical name of the water wheel plant.

The biggest flower belongs to a plant called rafflesia arnoldii, which is a total root parasite because it cannot prepare its own food, thus takes food along with water and minerals from the roots of the host plant.

Venus flytrap belongs to America as it is native to the areas near the east coast of America, South & North Carolina.

The relation between the bacteria and legume having nodulated root is of symbiosis because it is a mutually beneficial relationship where the bacteria acquire food and accommodation, while the plant acquires nitrogen to make proteins.

Epiphytes are symbiotic plants that grow on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain or from debris accumulating around it. They usually grow over the branches of trees so that they can attain sunlight as they are short.

A plant living symbiotically inside another plant is called endophyte because endophytes are plants that live within a plant for at least part of its life cycle without causing apparent disease.

Saprotrophs are heterotrophic organisms that derive their nutrition from dead or decaying organic matter by secreting enzymes externally.

The flower with the world's largest bloom is Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds. It is a total root parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to the roots of host plant to obtain water and nutrients. 

1st option is correctly matched as Cuscuta also known as dodder/arambel is a genus of about 100–170 species of yellow, orange, or red parasitic plants. 

Depending upon the mode of nutrition the organisms are classified as autotroph and heterotroph. 

The mode of nutrition in which non-green plants take in nutrients in solution form from dead and decaying matter is called saprophytic or saprotrophic nutrition. Fungi, mushrooms, yeast and many bacteria are examples of saprophytes. Roundworms, leeches and lice are parasites, i.e., they live on or in another organism and get their nutrition from them.

Holozoic modes of nutrition is a method of nutrition that involves the ingestion of liquid or solid organic material, digestion, absorption and assimilation of it to utilize it. For example, amoeba. 

Parasite are the organism, which depends upon other organism for its nourishment and growth, is known as parasite. It has intracellular digestion. It causes harm to the organism. 

Symbiosis is any of several living arrangements between members of two different species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Both positive (beneficial) and negative (unfavourable to harmful) associations are therefore included, and the members are called symbionts. Any association between two species populations that live together is symbiotic, whether the species benefit, harm, or have no effect on one another. 

Bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifer) is a widely distributed thread-like mucoralean mold. Commonly found on bread surfaces, it takes food and nutrients from the bread and causes damage to the surface where it lives. Asexual spores are formed within pinhead-like sporangia, which break to release the spores when mature. Germination of these spores forms the haploid hyphae of a new mycelium. R. stolonifer grows rapidly at temperatures between 15 and 30°C. 

Like all green plants, algae produce oxygen during the daylight hours as a by-product of photosynthesis. This is usually a major source of oxygen in fish ponds. In darkness, however, all plants consume oxygen, including algae. Algae blooms in natural water bodies or fish ponds normally produce much more oxygen in the daylight than they consume during the night, but some situations reduce the amount of oxygen a bloom produces without reducing its nighttime oxygen consumption. Trace minerals or nutrients needed by the algae are occasionally used up, causing some or even all, of the bloom to die back temporarily. The resulting bacterial decomposition and loss of normal oxygen production can lead to oxygen depletions and fish kills. Pond water generally changes from a deep green to black, gray, brown or clear after a phytoplankton die-off. 

Facultative parasites are organisms which do not completely depend on a host for completing its life cycle, but may become parasitic in absence of food or other favorable conditions

Cuscuta (Doddar) plant is obligate or total stem parasite. It completely lacks chlorophyll and has no connection with the soil after the seeding stage. Therefore it is totally dependent on the host for organic food materials and supply of water and minerals salts.

Cuscuta (dodder) is a well-known parasitic plant that lacks chlorophyll and derives its nutrients from a host plant.

A facultative saprophyte is an organism that is primarily a parasite but can survive as a saprophyte if a living host is unavailable.

Saprophytes perform extra-cellular digestion by secreting digestive enzymes into the environment to break down complex organic matter into absorbable nutrients.

Bacteria and fungi that break down dead organic matter are classified as saprophytes, playing a crucial role in nutrient cycling.

Viscum is a partial stem parasite among the following because it depends on its host for only water and minerals. It can prepare its own food through photosynthesis as it is chlorophyllous.

Dionaea, also called as venus fly trap has modified itself in order to meet the requirements of nitrogen. Its leaves are turned into bilobed flap-like structures or winged structures surrounded by spines on the margins so that they can trap the insects laying on them.

Balanophora is a total root parasite because it sucks sugars, minerals and also water from the roots of host plants like cabbage etc for its survival, in turn, harming the host.

Rafflesia bears the largest flowers of the angiosperms. The flowers can grow to 3 feet and can weigh up to 6 kilograms. The plant is parasitic and the vegetative parts are not visible. The flowers are unisexual. The foul smell produced by the flower attracts the pollinator insects.  

A. The largest root parasite is rafflesia because rafflesia blooms the largest flower grows to be 3 ft across and almost 50 pounds. The only visible parts of this parasite are usually its flower.

Orobanche is a well-known total root parasite that attaches to the roots of crops like tomato and brinjal to extract nutrients.

Epiphytes are plants that grow attached to other plants. Epiphytes and climbing plants have aerial roots that anchor the plant to the bark, branch or another surface on which it grows. Aerial roots of some epiphytes are specialized not only for anchorage but some have photosynthetic roots (some epiphytic orchids), some absorb water. Some parasitic epiphytes, such as mistletoe (Phorodendron sp, etc.), have roots that penetrate the host plant tissues and absorb nutrients.

While mushrooms are actually fungi rather than plants, they exhibit saprotrophic nutrition by obtaining nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter in soil. Unlike the other options which are parasitic or carnivorous plants, mushrooms are decomposers.

Rafflesia is an example of the obligate root parasites. These parasites are organism which cannot complete its life cycle without a host. It is done with the help of an absorptive organ, the haustorium.

Parasitic plants obtain their nutritional requirements from a host plant. 

A bacteria or fungi that lives within in a plant within the intercellular spaces, tissue cavities, or vascular bundles without harming the host is called as endophytes. They often benefit the host.

Parasitic plants are those which depend on other plants for their food either completely or incompletely. These plants produce a special organ called haustorium which produce adventitious roots to absorb food and nutrients.

So the correct option is D.

Symbiosis is a close, long-term biological interaction between two different organisms where both often benefit by sharing resources like food and shelter.

Legume family plants (Fabaceae), including pulses referred to as 'dal' in Indian languages, form well-known symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Rhizobium) in root nodules. This mutualistic relationship provides plants with nitrogen while bacteria receive carbohydrates.

Saprophytes are organisms that can't make their own food. In order to survive, they feed on dead and decaying matter. Fungi and a few species of bacteria are saprophytes. They grow tubular structures, or hyphae, which are filaments that grow and branch into the dead matter, produce digestive enzymes and digest away the dead organism. In order for a saprotrophic organism to facilitate optimal growth and repair, favourable conditions and nutrients must be present.[4] Optimal conditions refer to several conditions which optimize the growth of saprotrophic organisms, such as;

• Presence of water: 80–90% of the fungi is composed of water by mass, and requires excess water for absorption due to the evaporation of internally retent water.
• In terms of nitrogen-rich sources, saprotrophs require combined protein for the creation of proteins, which is facilitated by the absorption of amino acids, and usually taken from the rich soil.
•  Fungi, bread mould, some protists, and many bacteria are saprophytic in nutrition.

Albugo (a parasitic oomycete) and Vaucheria (a xanthophyte alga) both share a coenocytic (multinucleate without cross-walls) thallus structure and similar modes of sexual organ development and fertilization ( oogamous reproduction involving an oogonium and an antheridium).

The largest bloom is a parasitic plant, Rafflesia arnoldii which is found in the rainforests of Indonesia.

A.Nepenthes - It is an insectivorous plant.

Bacteria and fungi are the primary examples of saprotrophs because they secrete enzymes to decompose dead organic matter externally.

Saprotrophs, such as bacteria and fungi, are decomposers that break down organic matter from dead organisms into simpler inorganic substances. This process recycles nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Saprophytes are the class of organism that have saprophytic mode of nutrition. They feed on dead living organism. Indian pipe plant :- it is not a fungus, it just looks like one. It is actually a flowering plant, and it is a member of the blueberry family.

Nepenthes belongs to the category of producer and secondary consumer. It is also called as topical pitcher plant. It belongs to category of producer as it can synthesize its own food using solar energy. It belongs to secondary consumer because it is a carnivorous plant. It  preys the insects and derives nitrogen from it. Thus, the correct answer is 'Both B and C.'