hemiparasite

(hem′i parə sīt′)

noun

  1. Zool. an organism that may be either free-living or parasitic; facultative parasite
  2. Bot. a parasitic plant, as the mistletoe, which carries on some photosynthesis but obtains a portion of its food, water, or minerals from a host plant

Related Forms:

See hemiparasite in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. A plant, such as mistletoe, that obtains some nourishment from its host but also photosynthesizes. Also called semiparasite.
  2. An organism that can live either independently or as a parasite.

Related Forms:

  • hemˌi·parˌa·sitˈic (-sĭtˈĭk) adjective

Learn more about hemiparasite

link/cite print suggestion box