Question:

Weeds and Parasitism.?

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Would you consider weeds to be parasitic?

I think some species are parasitic, but is large crabgrass (scientific name Digitaria sanguinalis) parasitic?

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  1. Since crab grass spreads by root and will grow anywhere I would not consider this parasitic. It does not depend on other plants for life. It is aggressive though.


  2. Yes, some weeds are truly parasitic, in that they directly attack other plants and deprive them of water, nutrients, etc.  

    There are two kinds: the total parasite and the partial parasites.   I don't know whether carbgrass is partially or totally parasitic; it's a question for the exerts.  


  3. Yes, because they are feeding off of their host and taking their nutrients (ex. weeds in my garden cause my tomato plants to stay small)

  4. Most weeds wouldn't be parasitic in the classic definition, but rather sucessful competitors.  Since weeds do not operate by attaching to or internally invading a host, they are not really parasitic.  By outcompeting other plants for water and nutrients, they hurt plants around them, but not truly in a parasitic way.  The exception would be epiphytes which literally attach to their host and suck nutrients from them.
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