Explain parasitic nutrition with suitable examples.

Parasitic nutrition is a mode of nutrition in which an organism, called a parasite, derives its food from another living organism known as the host.

In this relationship, the parasite depends on the host for nutrients and often harms it in the process. The parasite may live on the surface of the host (ectoparasite) or inside the host’s body (endoparasite).

Examples of parasitic plants include Cuscuta (dodder), which obtains nutrients from host plants. In animals, examples include tapeworms living in the human intestine and lice living on the human scalp.

Parasitic nutrition affects the host by weakening it, causing diseases, or reducing its growth and productivity.

Thus, parasitic organisms rely entirely on their hosts for survival, often at the host’s expense.