Burke: Cuscuta pentagona vs. Cuscuta denticulata

	Cuscuta pentagona	Cuscuta denticulata
	field dodder, five-angled dodder	desert dodder
Habit	Parasitic, twining, annual or perennial herbs, with very slender, pinkish-yellow to white, glabrous stems, often forming large mats.	Parasitic, twining, perennial herbs, with very slender, pinkish-yellow to white glabrous stems, often forming large mats.
Leaves	Leaves reduced to tiny scales.	Leaves reduced to tiny scales.
Flowers	Flowers in small clusters, on pedicels about equal to the calyx; calyx not fleshy, 1.5-3 mm. long, shallowly cup-shaped, the 5 lobes broadly ovate-triangular, overlapping slightly at the base; corolla equaling the calyx, persistent, the tube broadly bell-shaped, slightly longer than the 5 spreading to reflexed, lanceolate, acute lobes; stamens 5, inserted just below the sinuses of the tube, exerted, the filaments exceeding the small anthers; obovate-oblong scales covering the base of the filaments are conspicuously fringed above, joined about 1/3 their lengths; styles 2, 1 mm. long; ovary superior, 2-celled.	Flowers usually sessile in small clusters; calyx not fleshy, deeply divided, the 5 lobes oval to orbicular, overlapping, 2 mm. long, the margins irregularly denticulate; corolla bell-shaped, slightly exceeding the calyx, the 5 lobes ovate-lanceolate, overlapping at the base, spreading to ascending, about equaling the tube; stamens 5, inserted just below the sinuses of the tube, slightly exerted, the filaments about equaling the anthers; oval scales covering the base of the filaments nearly entire, united to mid-length; styles 2, 0.5 mm. long; ovary superior, 2-celled.
Fruits	Capsule depressed-globose, 2.5-3 mm. long.	: Capsule narrowly ovoid, crested around the base of the style.

	Cuscuta pentagona	Cuscuta denticulata
Flowering time	July-September	July-August
Habitat	Parasitic on a variety of hosts.	Parasitic on Artemisia tridentata, occasionally on other hosts in sagebrush desert.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to Baja California, east to Colorado. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Threatened in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	C. approximata, C. californica, C. campestris, C. cephalanthi, C. denticulata, C. epithymum, C. indecora, C. occidentalis, C. pacifica, C. suksdorfii	C. approximata, C. californica, C. campestris, C. cephalanthi, C. epithymum, C. indecora, C. occidentalis, C. pacifica, C. pentagona, C. suksdorfii
Web links	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cuscuta denticulata

field dodder, five-angled dodder

desert dodder

Habit

Parasitic, twining, annual or perennial herbs, with very slender, pinkish-yellow to white, glabrous stems, often forming large mats.

Parasitic, twining, perennial herbs, with very slender, pinkish-yellow to white glabrous stems, often forming large mats.

Leaves

Leaves reduced to tiny scales.

Flowers

Flowers in small clusters, on pedicels about equal to the calyx;

calyx not fleshy, 1.5-3 mm. long, shallowly cup-shaped, the 5 lobes broadly ovate-triangular, overlapping slightly at the base;

corolla equaling the calyx, persistent, the tube broadly bell-shaped, slightly longer than the 5 spreading to reflexed, lanceolate, acute lobes;

stamens 5, inserted just below the sinuses of the tube, exerted, the filaments exceeding the small anthers; obovate-oblong scales covering the base of the filaments are conspicuously fringed above, joined about 1/3 their lengths;

styles 2, 1 mm. long;

ovary superior, 2-celled.

Flowers usually sessile in small clusters;

calyx not fleshy, deeply divided, the 5 lobes oval to orbicular, overlapping, 2 mm. long, the margins irregularly denticulate;

corolla bell-shaped, slightly exceeding the calyx, the 5 lobes ovate-lanceolate, overlapping at the base, spreading to ascending, about equaling the tube;

stamens 5, inserted just below the sinuses of the tube, slightly exerted, the filaments about equaling the anthers; oval scales covering the base of the filaments nearly entire, united to mid-length;

styles 2, 0.5 mm. long;

ovary superior, 2-celled.

Fruits

Capsule depressed-globose, 2.5-3 mm. long.

: Capsule narrowly ovoid, crested around the base of the style.

Cuscuta pentagona

Cuscuta denticulata

Flowering time

July-September

July-August

Habitat

Parasitic on a variety of hosts.

Parasitic on Artemisia tridentata, occasionally on other hosts in sagebrush desert.

Distribution

Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Atlantic Coast.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]