Plural of haustorium; specialized root-like or sucker-like structures that parasitic plants use to penetrate and absorb nutrients from a host plant.
From Latin 'haustorium,' from 'haustus' (a drawing or draught). Adopted into botanical terminology in the 18th century to describe plant parasitism structures.
Plants can be vampires too—parasitic plants like mistletoe use haustoria to pierce host trees and suck out nutrients, and scientists borrowed the Latin word for 'drinking tube' to describe this botanical villainy.
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