this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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Fungi: mycelia, mushrooms & more

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Parasitic orchids ditch photosynthesis for fungi (www.popsci.com)
submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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In some orchids, photosynthesis is out and parasitism is in. Instead of making food from sunlight, some of these plants have become parasitic and primarily suck nutrients out of the fungi in their roots. Whether these orchids change their feeding method when they can’t get enough nutrients through photosynthesis alone or if they actually get more nutritional benefits from the parasitism has eluded scientists. New research into the orchid Oreorchis patens shows that it might be the opportunity and not necessity that is driving them. The findings are detailed in a study published February 19 in The Plant Journal.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Knowing even the slightest bit of plant science turns this article into comedy.

Hint: plants don't get nutrients from photosynthesis.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

In this article, it says through photosynthesis which is quit different. Personaly, I find it accurate enough in the sense that photosynthesis is a process and this is not a scientific paper.

Btw here is a relevant scientific link for details on the process:

What Are the Products of Photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is the name given to the set of chemical reactions performed by plants to convert energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of sugar. Specifically, plants use energy from sunlight to react to carbon dioxide and water to produce sugar (glucose) and oxygen, the products of photosynthesis. (...)