An organism, especially a plant, that is structurally or functionally different from related organisms; an organism requiring different nutrients or conditions.
From Greek hetero- (different) + -phyte (plant). A biological term describing organisms with different characteristics from their relatives.
Heterophytes are the 'unusual' members of plant families—like a succulent among typical bushes or a parasitic plant among photosynthetic ones. They've adapted to such different lifestyles that they look barely related!
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