Scientific plausibility of plant/animal zoophytic symbiosis

Nature Talk
21

I have thought of this, and that obstacle can be overcome through four points:

1: the umbilical-cord like tendril could grow (albeit slowly), extending the length; the tendril could also just be really long (even ~50 ft)

2: the plant supplements the animal with photosynthesized nutrients (as you stated)

3: a slow metabolism and/or something akin to hibernation when food is scarce

4: rationing; i.e., the sheep only eats a small amount at a time, or only in a specific area within its reach, allowing forage to regrow

These combined should be enough to prevent starvation

22

Coming back to this thread to note the existence of the leaf sheep (thanks to the Guardian’s annual “Invertebrate of the Year” contest).

While not precisely the sort of animal-plant symbiosis imagined in the Tartary lamb, it does engage in photosynthesis thanks to chloroplasts stolen from the algae it grazes on. And although it is only a few mm in length, aquatic, and completely lacking in wool, it manages to be pleasingly sheepy in appearance.