Hermit crabs and cockroaches emerge as unlikely seed dispersers on a Japanese island

In the humid, coastal forests of Japan’s Ishigaki Island, near Okinawa, a parasitic plant relies on some unusual allies to spread its seeds: land hermit crabs and cockroaches, according to a recent study.

The plant, fungus root (Balanophora fungosa), is non-photosynthetic, meaning it lacks chlorophyll and can’t make its own food.

Instead, it grows as […]