大象传媒

Australian mistletoe plants can only exist in partnership with a tree since they have no roots of their own. The mistletoe has green leaves so it can make its own food but it is a parasite and gets all its liquid from the tree to which it is attached. There are over 1,000 mistletoe species, and over 75 live in Australia alone. There are so many, in fact, that there will always be one in fruit somewhere. The mistletoe bird is therefore able to eat virtually nothing but mistletoe berries and extracts the flesh by squeezing the fruit with its beak. It then digests the seed within half an hour, and when the seed comes out the other end it is so sticky that the bird must wipe its bottom against a branch to extricate itself. Once planted on a branch the seed quickly germinates and attaches itself to the tree. With access to the tree's water supply it can now start to make leaves and build food for itself.