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The Plant that Makes Its Home on a Cactus

Season 1 Episode 4 | 3m 16s

Tristerix seeds travel in bird droppings, when they land on a cactus they grow long probe-like stems, that latch onto the cactus body and inject it with parasitic threads. A year later Tristerix bursts out of the cactus skin as a bloom of beautiful flowers that attract hummingbird pollinators.

Extras
Some plants developed adaptations that were unhelpful for the cultivation of crops.
Sir David Attenborough reveals how humans help plants, many of which face extinction.
Sir David Attenborough explores desert plants with survival tactics.
Watch vines and balsa trees fight out who will get to the top of the canopy.
Sir David Attenborough reveals the surprising effects of the seasons on plant life.
Marksmen use paintballs filled with herbicide shot from a helicopter to stop Miconia.
You truck in in 40 billion bees.
The baobab stores thousands of gallons of water in its spongy wood.
The saguaro features a pleated surface which allows it to expand.
Fungi is able to link a whole group of trees through their root systems.