Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33793868›Full record

ReviewPlant physiology2021

The bright side of parasitic plants: what are they good for?

Jakub Těšitel, Ai-Rong Li, Kateřina Knotková, Richard McLellan, Pradeepa C G Bandaranayake, David M Watson

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Plant physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Protective Effects ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. The Antioxidant Properties of Extracts ofAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  10. A long-distance inhibitory system regulates haustoria numbers in parasitic plants.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Influence of ecological characteristics and phylogeny on native plant species' commercial availability.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. The native stem holoparasiticFrontiers in plant science · 2022
    Article
  19. The Angiosperm Stem Hemiparasitic GenusFrontiers in plant science · 2022
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jakub TěšitelDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno 611 37, Czech Republic.
Ai-Rong LiDepartment of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China.
Kateřina KnotkováDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno 611 37, Czech Republic.
Richard McLellanInstitute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, New South Wales 2640, Australia.
Pradeepa C G BandaranayakeAgricultural Biotechnology Centre, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400, Sri Lanka.
David M WatsonInstitute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, New South Wales 2640, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Parasitic plants are mostly viewed as pests. This is caused by several species causing serious damage to agriculture and forestry. There is however much more to parasitic plants than presumed weeds. Many parasitic plans exert even positive effects on natural ecosystems and human society, which we review in this paper. Plant parasitism generally reduces the growth and fitness of the hosts. The network created by a parasitic plant attached to multiple host plant individuals may however trigger transferring systemic signals among these. Parasitic plants have repeatedly been documented to play the role of keystone species in the ecosystems. Harmful effects on community dominants, including invasive species, may facilitate species coexistence and thus increase biodiversity. Many parasitic plants enhance nutrient cycling and provide resources to other organisms like herbivores or pollinators, which contributes to facilitation cascades in the ecosystems. There is also a long tradition of human use of parasitic plants for medicinal and cultural purposes worldwide. Few species provide edible fruits. Several parasitic plants are even cultivated by agriculture/forestry for efficient harvesting of their products. Horticultural use of some parasitic plant species has also been considered. While providing multiple benefits, parasitic plants should always be used with care. In particular, parasitic plant species should not be cultivated outside their native geographical range to avoid the risk of their uncontrolled spread and the resulting damage to ecosystems.

Indexed as

BiodiversityEcosystemCzech RepublicHost-Parasite InteractionsPlants

Identifiers

PMID33793868
PMCPMC8133642

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.