Burke: Cuscuta pentagona vs. Cuscuta pacifica

	Cuscuta pentagona	Cuscuta pacifica
	field dodder, five-angled dodder	salt marsh 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 in few-flowered, loose clusters on pedicels 2-4 mm. long; calyx fleshy at the base, about equal to the corolla tube, the 5 lobes ovate-lanceolate, pointed; corolla 2.5-4.5 mm. long, the tube narrowly bell-shaped, the 5 erect lobes broadly lanceolate, acuminate, nearly entire, about equal to the tube; stamens 5, inserted just below the sinuses; poorly developed, narrowly-oblong scales cover the base of the filaments; styles 2, 1 mm. long, ovary 2-celled, superior.
Fruits	Capsule depressed-globose, 2.5-3 mm. long.	Capsule globose-ovoid, crested just below the base of the styles.

	Cuscuta pentagona	Cuscuta pacifica
Flowering time	July-September	June-October
Habitat	Parasitic on a variety of hosts.	Coastal marshes and saltwater tideflats.
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 west of the Cascades crest along the coast in Washington; British Columbia to Baja California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
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. denticulata, C. epithymum, C. indecora, C. occidentalis, C. pentagona, C. suksdorfii
Subordinate taxa		C. pacifica var. pacifica
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: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cuscuta pacifica

field dodder, five-angled dodder

salt marsh 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 in few-flowered, loose clusters on pedicels 2-4 mm. long;

calyx fleshy at the base, about equal to the corolla tube, the 5 lobes ovate-lanceolate, pointed;

corolla 2.5-4.5 mm. long, the tube narrowly bell-shaped, the 5 erect lobes broadly lanceolate, acuminate, nearly entire, about equal to the tube;

stamens 5, inserted just below the sinuses; poorly developed, narrowly-oblong scales cover the base of the filaments;

styles 2, 1 mm. long, ovary 2-celled, superior.

Fruits

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

Capsule globose-ovoid, crested just below the base of the styles.

Cuscuta pentagona

Cuscuta pacifica

Flowering time

July-September

June-October

Habitat

Parasitic on a variety of hosts.

Coastal marshes and saltwater tideflats.

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]