Fun Fact #15: Well since I like plants so much and that's mostly what I know about, I'm going to present to you another of my favourite plants. So hands up, how many of you have heard of a plant that can cut through a phone line? Well I have one for you, its called Nuytsia floribunda (Or the Christmas tree – okay it looks nothing like a Christmas tree, but it does flower at Christmas). This is a hemiparasite that literally chops off the middle of any root it finds that isn't too big, it then attaches its own root to the end and gets some free nutrients.

Question

trancenova · Answer

It does this through a haustorium, which is basically a pair of scissors the plant grows with its roots. The funny thing? When they were laying phone cables in Western Australia the tree just kept slicing through them. Western Australia has lots of Christmas trees and thicker phone cables. Word is, if you stick a pencil in a pot with one, it'll slice it in half in a week.

anonymous · Answer

wow... its really shocking dat it does.. :-)

trancenova · Answer

Yeah! Coolest plant ever :P

anonymous · Answer

really cool plant