Parasitic plant cultivation: examples, lessons learned and future directions

Parasitic plants contain some of the most bizarre and fascinating organisms in plant kingdom. Yet they are notable for their absence from botanic gardens’ collections conservation strategies. Besides a handful species, few widespread cultivation; indeed we estimate at least 76 per cent species entirely missing today, these have never been grown all. Here, place focus on holoparasites, group long neglected due to difficulty cultivation. We review propagation breakthroughs temperate tropical gardens identify guiding principles cultivation plants. document life cycle range parasitic plants, assess successful failed attempts propagate Rafflesia specifically, which has decades research. By uniting isolated case studies around world, future directions possible ex situ botanical enigmas time when this is needed urgently. Finally, recommend dedicated global community purpose as an intentional step forward: could take form Global Consortium Conservation or Plant Specialist Group under International Union Nature.