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clover dodder, common dodder, thyme dodder

fimbriate dodder, fringe dodder

Stems

yellow-orange, slender.

Inflorescences

loose, racemiform or corymbiform;

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

Pedicels

2–5(–7 mm).

Flowers

5-merous, 3–5 mm, membranous, not papillate;

calyx light brown to reddish, cupulate-turbinate, 1/2–3/4 corolla tube length, divided 1/2 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes triangular-ovate, bases scarcely overlapping, margins entire, revolute, midvein not carinate, apex obtuse to subacute;

corolla white, drying creamy or reddish, 2.8–4.7 mm, tube campanulate, 2–3 mm, not saccate, lobes erect to spreading, triangular-ovate, 1/2 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex acute, inflexed;

infrastaminal scales oblong-ovate, 1.8–2.8 mm, equaling corolla tube length, bridged at 0.8–1.4 mm, rounded, uniformly densely fimbriate, fimbriae 0.3–0.5 mm;

stamens slightly exserted, shorter than corolla lobes;

filaments 0.2–0.4 mm;

anthers 0.6–0.8 × 0.5–0.6 mm;

styles filiform, 1.6–2.5 mm, equaling or longer than ovary.

Capsules

globose-ovoid, 2.5–3.5 × 2.5–3.5 mm, not thickened around relatively small interstylar aperture, not translucent, surrounded by withered corolla, indehiscent.

Seeds

2–4, obcompressed, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, 1.3–2 × 1–1.7 mm, hilum region subterminal.

Cuscuta epithymum

Cuscuta suaveolens

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Hosts: Medicago sativa, Trifolium.
Elevation 20–1000 m. (100–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; CA; OH; SD; TX; South America [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Europe]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties (subspecies) 2 (1 in the flora): introduced; Europe; introduced also in Mexico, South America, Asia, s Africa, Australia.

Cuscuta epithymum subsp. kotschyi (Des Moulins) Arcangeli grows in southern Europe.

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

Cuscuta suaveolens is an ephemeral weed associated with the cultivation of forage legumes; it has not been collected in recent decades.

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

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Cuscuta Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica
Sibling taxa
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. 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. subinclusa, C. suksdorfii, C. tuberculata, C. umbellata, C. umbrosa, C. warneri
Subordinate taxa
C. epithymum var. epithymum
Synonyms C. europaea var. epithymum
Name authority (Linnaeus) Linnaeus: Amoen. Acad. 4: 478. (1759) — (as epithym.) Seringe: Ann. Sci. Phys. Nat. Lyon 3: 519. (1840)
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