Flora of North America species comparison

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Cassytha filiformis

Lauraceae

devil's gut, love-vine

laurel family
Habit Shrubs to tall trees, evergreen or rarely deciduous (Cassytha a parasitic vine with leaves reduced to scales), usually aromatic.
Stems

twining, pale green to yellow-green to orange, filiform, glabrous or pubescent.

Leaves

alternate, ca. 1 mm.

blade: unlobed (unlobed or lobed in Sassafras), margins entire, occasionally with domatia (crevices or hollows serving as lodging for mites) in axils of main lateral veins (in Cinnamomum).
Inflorescences

spikes, rarely reduced to single flower.

in axils of leaves or deciduous bracts, panicles (rarely heads), racemes, compound cymes, or pseudoumbels (spikes in Cassytha), sometimes enclosed by decussate bracts.
Flowers

bisexual, subtended by ciliate bract and bracteoles;

outer 3 tepals 0.1-1 mm, similar to bracteoles, inner 3 tepals 1-1.8 mm, apex incurved;

pistil 1.2 mm, glabrous.

bisexual or unisexual, bisexual only, or staminate and pistillate on different plants, or staminate and bisexual on some plants, pistillate and bisexual on others;

flowers usually yellow to greenish or white, rarely reddish;

hypanthium well developed, resembling calyx tube, tepals and stamens perigynous;

tepals 6(-9), in 2(-3) whorls of 3, sepaloid, equal or rarely unequal, if unequal then usually outer 3 smaller than inner 3 (occasionally absent in Litsea);

stamens (3-)9(-12), in whorls of 3, but 1 or more whorls frequently staminodial or absent;

stamens of 3d whorl with 2 glands near base;

anthers 2- or 4-locular, locules opening by valves;

pistil 1, 1-carpellate;

ovary 1-locular;

placentation basal;

ovule 1;

stigma subsessile, discoid or capitate.
Fruits

drupes, drupe borne on pedicel with or without persistent tepals at base, or seated in ± deeply cup-shaped receptacle (cupule), or enclosed in accrescent floral tube.
Drupe

to 7 mm diam. 2n = 48.

Seed

1;

endosperm absent.

Cassytha filiformis

Lauraceae
Phenology Flowering spring–summer (May–Jul).
Habitat Coastal vegetation
Elevation 0-20 m (0-100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Pantropical; a few species also in subtropical and temperate regions
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cassytha filiformis is a very distinctive plant that can be confused only with Cuscuta, a vining parasite of the Cuscutaceae.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Genera ca. 50, species 2000-3000 (9 genera, 13 species in the flora).

Cassytha is sometimes placed in its own family, Cassythaceae; it is here retained in Lauraceae.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key

Key to Genera Based on Flowering Material

1. Parasitic vines, leaves reduced to minute scales; stems pale green to yellow-green or orange, twining.
Cassytha
1. Shrubs or trees, leafy; stem various in color but not orange, not twinning.
→ 2
2. Plants deciduous; flowers appearing before or with new leaves.
→ 3
2. Plants evergreen; flowers appearing when leaves mature.
→ 5
3. Flowers in racemes or panicles; leaf blade often lobed.
Sassafras
3. Flowers in pseudoumbels; leaf blade always unlobed.
→ 4
4. Anthers 2-locular.
Lindera
4. Anthers 4-locular.
Listea
5. Flowers in pseudoumbels.
Umbellularia
5. Flowers in panicles or compound cymes.
→ 6
6. Stamens 3, anthers 2-locular.
Licaria
6. Stamens 9, anthers 4-locular.
→ 7
7. Outer 3 tepals shorter than inner 3.
Persea
7. Tepals equal.
→ 8
8. Leaf blade pinnately veined, domatia absent; terminal bud not covered by imbricate scales.
Nectandra
8. Leaf blade with (1-)3 primary veins, pubescent domatia in axils of main lateral veins; terminal bud covered by imbricate scales, young twigs with clusters of scars from fallen scales.
Cinnamomum

Key to Genera Based on Fruiting Material

1. Parasitic vines, leaves reduced to minute scales.
Cassytha
1. Shrubs or trees, leafy.
→ 2
2. Leaf blade usually lobed (often unlobed).
Sassafras
2. Leaf blade always unlobed.
→ 3
3. Tepals persistent at base of fruit; cupule absent.
Persea
3. Tepals deciduous; small cupule present.
→ 4
4. Cupule usuallly double-rimmed.
Licaria
4. Cupule single-rimmed.
→ 5
5. Fruit at maturity 2 cm or more in greatest dimension; California, Oregon
Umbellularia
5. Fruit at maturity less than 2 cm in greatest dimension; e of Rocky Mountains.
→ 6
6. Infructescences umbellate or not branched, about 1 cm.
→ 7
6. Infructescences paniculate, more than 4 cm.
→ 8
7. Leaf blade 4 × 1.5 cm or less.
Listea
7. Leaf blade 4 × 2 cm or more.
Lindera
8. Leaf blade pinnately veined, domatia absent; terminal bud not covered by imbricate scales.
Nectandra
8. Leaf blade with (1-)3 primary veins, pubescent domatia in axils of main lateral veins; terminal bud covered by imbricate scales, young twigs with clusters of scars from fallen scales.
Cinnamomum
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3, p. 26. Author: Henk van der Werff.
Parent taxa Lauraceae > Cassytha
Subordinate taxa
Cassytha, Cinnamomum, Licaria, Lindera, Listea, Nectandra, Persea, Sassafras, Umbellularia
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 35. (1753) Jussieu
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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