What characteristic do parasites lack?

Parasites are organisms that live on or inside a host and derive nutrients from them. One of the key characteristics of many parasites is that they do not need to possess leaves or green stems for photosynthesis, which is a process used by many plants to create their own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. Instead, parasites rely on their hosts for nutrition, making their dependency on a host organism essential for their survival.

This characteristic is particularly evident in organisms like tapeworms and mistletoe, which lack green photosynthetic tissues. Their ability to thrive without leaves or green stems contrasts with autotrophic plants that can produce their own food. Hence, recognizing that parasites do not typically require these green structures helps distinguish their life strategies from those of other plants.