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butterbush dodder, button-bush dodder

desert dodder

Stems

yellow-orange, medium.

light yellow to orange, slender to medium.

Inflorescences

dense to loose, spiciform or paniculiform, commonly originating endogenously;

bracts at base of clusters 1 or 2, at base of pedicels and/or flowers 0 or 1, ovate, membranous, margins entire or serrulate, apex obtuse to acute.

loose, umbelliform;

bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, membranous, margins ± entire, apex acute.

Pedicels

0–1 mm.

(0.5–)2.5–4 mm.

Flowers

(3 or)4(or 5)-merous, 2–3 mm, membranous, not papillate;

calyx yellow-brown, shallowly cupulate, 1/2 corolla tube length, divided 2/3 its length, not reticulate, not shiny, lobes oblong-ovate, bases slightly overlapping, margins entire or serrulate, midvein not carinate, apex obtuse;

corolla white, drying creamy white, 1.8–2.8 mm, tube cylindric-campanulate to cylindric, 1.1–2.2 mm, not saccate, lobes spreading, ovate, 1/3–1/2 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex obtuse, straight;

infrastaminal scales oblong, rounded, 0.9–1.7 mm, shorter than to equaling corolla tube length, bridged at 0.2–0.4 mm, sparsely fimbriate, more densely distally, fimbriae 0.1–0.3 mm;

stamens included to slightly exserted, equaling corolla lobes;

filaments 0.2–0.4 mm;

anthers 0.2–0.4 × 0.2–0.4 mm;

styles filiform or narrowly terete, (0.6–)1–2 mm, equaling or longer than ovary.

(4 or)5-merous, (2.8–)3–4(–5) mm, membranous, receptacle and base of perianth fleshy, not papillate;

calyx golden yellow to brownish, narrowly campanulate, equaling corolla tube length, divided 2/3 its length, reticulate and shiny, lobes lanceolate, bases overlapping, margins ± entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute to acuminate;

corolla white, drying brownish yellow, 2.8–4 mm, tube campanulate, 1.3–2 mm, not saccate, lobes reflexed, ovate to oblong, equaling or longer than corolla tube length, margins entire or irregularly denticulate, apex acute, straight;

infrastaminal scales ovate to oblong, 1.3–1.8 mm, equaling corolla tube length, bridged at 0.4–0.6 mm, truncate to rounded, margins uniformly fimbriate, fimbriae 0.1–0.2 mm;

stamens included or slightly exserted, shorter than corolla lobes;

filaments (0–)0.1–0.3 mm;

anthers 0.5–0.8 × 0.3–0.4 mm;

styles uniformly filiform, 0.5–1 mm, 1/2 to equaling ovary.

Capsules

depressed-globose to globose, 2.5–3.2(–4) × 2–4 mm, not thickened or raised around relatively small interstylar aperture, not translucent, capped by withered corolla, indehiscent.

globose-ovoid to ovoid, 1.4–2.1 × 1.2–2 mm, not thickened to raised around inconspicuous interstylar aperture, translucent, capped by withered corolla, indehiscent.

Seeds

1 or 2, obcompressed, broadly ovoid, 1.4–2 × 1.3–1.4 mm, hilum region terminal.

1, globose-ovoid, 0.9–1.2 × 0.8–1.08 mm, hilum region terminal, embryo base globose-enlarged.

2n

= 60.

Cuscuta cephalanthi

Cuscuta nevadensis

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat stream and lake shores, marshes, and floodplain forests. Hosts: usually Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex confertifolia, A. hymenelytra, A. polycarpa, Psorothamnus fremontii, Suaeda nigra; rarely Acamptopappus, Brassica, Dedeckera, Lycium, and Stephanomeria; salt-desert shrubland.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) 400–1500 m. (1300–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CT; DC; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cuscuta nevadensis is viviparous; its seeds germinate inside fruits enclosed by perianths and attached to the parent plant (M. Costea et al. 2005).

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

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica
Sibling taxa
C. americana, C. approximata, C. azteca, C. boldinghii, C. brachycalyx, C. californica, C. campestris, C. chinensis, C. compacta, C. coryli, C. cuspidata, C. dentatasquamata, C. denticulata, C. draconella, C. epilinum, C. epithymum, C. erosa, C. europaea, C. exaltata, C. glabrior, C. glomerata, C. gronovii, C. harperi, C. howelliana, C. indecora, C. japonica, C. jepsonii, C. legitima, C. leptantha, C. liliputana, C. mitriformis, C. nevadensis, C. obtusiflora, C. occidentalis, C. odontolepis, C. pacifica, C. pentagona, C. plattensis, C. polygonorum, C. rostrata, C. runyonii, C. salina, C. squamata, C. suaveolens, C. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tuberculata, C. umbellata, C. umbrosa, C. warneri
C. americana, C. approximata, C. azteca, C. boldinghii, C. brachycalyx, C. californica, C. campestris, C. cephalanthi, C. chinensis, C. compacta, C. coryli, C. cuspidata, C. dentatasquamata, C. denticulata, C. draconella, C. epilinum, C. epithymum, C. erosa, C. europaea, C. exaltata, C. glabrior, C. glomerata, C. gronovii, C. harperi, C. howelliana, C. indecora, C. japonica, C. jepsonii, C. legitima, C. leptantha, C. liliputana, C. mitriformis, C. obtusiflora, C. occidentalis, C. odontolepis, C. pacifica, C. pentagona, C. plattensis, C. polygonorum, C. rostrata, C. runyonii, C. salina, C. squamata, C. suaveolens, C. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tuberculata, C. umbellata, C. umbrosa, C. warneri
Synonyms C. veatchii var. apoda
Name authority Engelmann: Amer. J. Sci. Arts 43: 336, plate 6, figs. 1–6. (1842) I. M. Johnston: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 4, 12: 1133. (1924)
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