Concept:Parasitic plants absorb water and nutrients from a host plant using special modified roots.
Explanation:A parasitic plant depends wholly or partly on another living plant for nutrition.
It produces modified structures called haustoria, which penetrate the host’s tissues.
These haustoria connect to the host’s xylem or phloem and draw water and food.
Holdfasts are for attachment in aquatic plants, not nutrition.
Rhizoids mainly anchor non-vascular plants like mosses.
Hanging roots occur in epiphytes or banyan, not in typical parasites.
So the distinctive feature is the development of haustoria.
Answer:D. development of haustoria.