holoparasitic

adjective

ho·​lo·​par·​a·​sit·​ic ˌhō-lō-ˌper-ə-ˈsi-tik 

-ˌpa-rə-

botany

: of, relating to, or being a parasitic plant (such as dodder) that is not capable of photosynthesis and obtains all nutrients and water from a host plant

In addition to constituting the only angiosperms lacking leaves, species of Hydnoraceae are further distinguished by being holoparasitic plants …

—Erika E. Maass et al.

holoparasite

ˌhō-lō-ˈper-ə-ˌsīt 

-ˈpa-rə-

noun

plural holoparasites

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above