3D reconstruction from photos of a rare Wood Rose also known as Parasite Wood. Approximately 30cm wide.
Dactylanthus taylorii, commonly known as wood rose, is a fully parasitic flowering plant. The host tree responds to the presence of Dactylanthus by forming a burl-like structure that resembles a fluted wooden rose (hence the common name). When the flowers emerge on the forest floor, they are pollinated by a ground-foraging species of native bat.
Dactylanthus taylorii is a round warty tuber-like stem (up to 50 cm wide) or haustorium with no roots, which draws nutrients from the roots of its host. Its leaves do not photosynthesise, and are reduced to floral bracts. Some plants have been aged in excess of 30 years old. Dactylanthus prefers damp but not waterlogged soil, and is often found at the head of small streams. It parasitises about 30 species of native hardwood trees and shrubs, preferring those growing in secondary forest on the margin of mature podocarp forest.
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