Heterotrophic plants do not have the capacity to produce enough food to sustain them. Consequently, heterotrophic nutrition refers to acquiring complex, already-made food. These types of plant food provide energy and molecules and atoms that will help the plant repair or build new protoplasm. Heterotrophic nutrition also offers vitamins, co-enzymes and ions that are crucial for the plant’s chemical processes.
There are four main types of heterotrophic nutrition:
- Insectivorous - insect eating
- Symbiotic - cooperate with another organism for their mutual benefit
- Parasitic - live on another organism
- Saprophytic - decomposers
