Parasitic plants show striking convergence in host preference across angiosperm lineages

The marked pattern of convergence in preference across disparate lineages points to a common pathway in the evolution of parasitism of eudicots in preference to monocots, which might, in turn, have been driven by a divergence in host root and vascular architecture. The unexpected variation in host specificity among closely related species suggests that even apparent generalists might contain cryptic host-specific taxa. This highlights the value of host preference as an additional consideration in parasitic plant taxonomy. Together, our data point to a complex interplay between ecological and physiological factors driving the evolution of host-parasite interactions. Moreover, they emphasize how little is known about the ecology of most holoparasitic plants, a group of organisms that are especially vulnerable at a time of unprecedented biodiversity loss and extinction.