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butterbush dodder, button-bush dodder

big-fruit dodder

Stems

yellow-orange, medium.

yellow to orange, coarse.

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.

dense, paniculiform;

bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0(or 1), ovate to broadly triangular, membranous, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse.

Pedicels

0–1 mm.

0.9–7 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.

5-merous, 2–3.5(–4.4) mm, membranous, not papillate;

calyx brownish, campanulate, to 1/2 corolla tube length, divided 1/2–2/3 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes ovate, bases overlapping, margins entire or serrulate, midvein not carinate, apex obtuse to rounded;

corolla creamy white, drying creamy brownish, 2–4 mm, tube campanulate, 1.7–2.3(–2.7) mm, not saccate, lobes spreading to reflexed, ovate to broadly triangular-ovate, 1/4–1/3 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex rounded to obtuse, straight;

infrastaminal scales broadly oblong, 1.2–2 mm, (1/3–)1/2 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.5–1 mm, ± truncate to 2-lobed apically, fimbriate mostly in distal 1/2, fimbriae 0.2–0.6 mm;

stamens exserted, shorter than corolla lobes;

filaments 0.4–0.7 mm;

anthers 0.3–0.6 × 0.2–0.4 mm;

styles slender, 0.3–0.9 mm, 1/4 ovary length, slightly thickened at base.

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.

ovoid to globose-conic or subobpyriform, 3.5–6.5(–7) × 3–5(–6) mm, raised and thickened around relatively small interstylar aperture, apex rarely narrowed into neck to 1 mm, not translucent, surrounding capsule or capped by withered corolla, indehiscent.

Seeds

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

3 or 4, obcompressed to obscurely angled, broadly ellipsoid to obovoid, 1.8–2.5(–2.8) × 1.5–1.6 mm, hilum region subterminal.

2n

= 60.

Cuscuta cephalanthi

Cuscuta umbrosa

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat stream and lake shores, marshes, and floodplain forests. Hosts: Ampelopsis, Clematis, Convolvulus, Epilobium, Humulus, Impatiens, Lactuca, Linum, Salix, Scutellaria, Solidago, Symphoricarpos, Urtica, and others.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) 50–2100 m. (200–6900 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
CO; IA; ID; IL; KS; MN; MT; ND; NE; NM; SD; UT; WI; WY; AB; MB; ON; SK
Discussion

Navajo Indians of the southwestern United States added seeds of Cuscuta umbrosa to soups or stews (E. F. Castetter 1935).

(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. 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. warneri
Synonyms C. curta, C. megalocarpa
Name authority Engelmann: Amer. J. Sci. Arts 43: 336, plate 6, figs. 1–6. (1842) Beyrich ex Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 78. (1837)
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