Osyris alba

A comparable situation to insect specialists can be found in parasitic and hemi-parasitic plants, another example of multitrophic interactions. In several instances it can be shown that the parasites can tap the xylem or phloem of their host plants and sequester the host alkaloids into their own system [2,31]. The parasites would gain chemical defense against herbivores by such a process (Table 1.4). In Osyris alba it can be shown that plants exist that can sequester the alkaloids of more than one host plant that is, pyrrolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids [32]. The situation of Lolium is even more complex [33]. If the grass Lolium temulentum is infected by an endophytic... 

N-Methylcytisine Quinolizidine Spartium junceum Osyris alba... 

---