Dodder, a plant that thrives in Taiwan, was first documented in Shennong Bencaojing. Dodder cannot photosynthesize or absorb water from the soil. To survive, it parasitizes other plants, using unique suction structures to penetrate the host to gain nutrients, causing the plant to wither.
Beggar / Yi-Jie WU, Ying-Ying CHIU, Photo: Ying-Ying CHIU
To reduce the population of Dodder and utilize it, we have genetically modified its genes to humans, allowing a more direct way to parasitize and consume nutrients from plants.