Cuscuta indecora |
Cuscuta glomerata |
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big seed alfalfa dodder, collared dodder, inelegant dodder, large-seed dodder |
rope dodder |
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Stems | yellow to orange, slender to medium. |
orange, medium. |
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Inflorescences | loose to dense, paniculiform or corymbiform, sometimes originating endogenously; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, ovate to lanceolate, membranous, margins entire, apex acute. |
extremely dense, continuous (cymes indiscernible), ropelike, spiraling around and closely appressed to host stem, flowers sessile, commonly originating endogenously; bracts at base of clusters, pedicels, and/or flowers 4–11, narrowly triangular to lanceolate, folded-concave, membranous, margins serrate or lacerate, apex acute, recurved. |
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Pedicels | 0.5–6 mm, usually papillate. |
absent. |
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Flowers | 5-merous, 3–4.5(–5.3) mm, fleshy, perianth cells convex, domelike, perianth and ovary usually papillate; calyx creamy yellow to brownish, cupulate, 1/2–3/4 or longer than corolla tube length, divided 1/3–2/3 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes triangular-ovate to lanceolate, bases overlapping or not, margins entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute to attenuate; corolla white, drying creamy yellow to dark brown, 2.5–4(–5) mm, tube campanulate to campanulate-cylindric, becoming subglobose or urceolate, 1.7–3 mm, not saccate, lobes suberect to erect, triangular-ovate, 1/3 to equaling corolla tube length, margins entire, apex acute, inflexed; infrastaminal scales subspatulate to spatulate, 1.7–3 mm, equaling corolla tube length, bridged at 0.3–0.9 mm, usually rounded, rarely truncate or 2 or 3(or 4)-lobed, uniformly densely fimbriate, fimbriae 0.4–0.7 mm; stamens barely exserted or included, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.3–0.7 mm; anthers 0.3–0.8 × 0.2–0.5 mm; styles filiform, 1–2.5 mm, equaling ovary. |
5-merous, 5–6 mm, membranous, not papillate; calyx stramineous yellow, campanulate-turbinate, equaling corolla tube length, divided to base or nearly so, reticulate, shiny, lobes narrowly triangular to lanceolate, bases overlapping, margins serrate to irregular, midvein not carinate, apex obtuse to acute; corolla white, drying stramineous yellow or brownish, 4.5–5.4 mm, tube cylindric, 3.6–4.4 mm, not saccate, lobes spreading to reflexed, oblong-lanceolate, 1/5–1/4 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse, straight; infrastaminal scales oblong, 2.5–3 mm, 3/4 corolla tube length, bridged at 1.3–1.7 mm, rounded, ± uniformly fimbriate, fimbriae 0.3–0.5 mm; stamens exserted, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.5–0.7 mm; anthers 0.6–0.8 × 0.3–0.4 mm; styles filiform, 2–3 mm, longer than ovary. |
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Capsules | globose to subglobose, 2–3.5 × 1.9–4(–5) mm, thickened and raised around relatively mid-sized interstylar aperture, translucent, surrounded or capped by withered corolla, indehiscent. |
globose to flask-shaped, 3.5–6 × 2–3.5 mm, thickened and raised in collar around style bases, not translucent, capped by withered corolla, indehiscent. |
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Seeds | 2–4, shape heterogeneous on same plant: obcompressed to weakly angled, broadly ellipsoid to transversely oblique, 1.4–1.8 × 1.2–1.6 mm, hilum region usually subterminal, rarely almost terminal. |
1 or 2, slightly obcompressed, subglobose, or ovoid, 1.4–1.7 × 1.2–1.6 mm, hilum region terminal. |
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2n | = 30. |
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Cuscuta indecora |
Cuscuta glomerata |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | |||||||||
Habitat | Hosts: Ambrosia, Asclepias, Helenium, Helianthus, Liatris, Silphium, Solidago, Symphyotrichum, Vernonia, and others. | |||||||||
Elevation | 100–1000 m. (300–3300 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
North America; Mexico; South America; West Indies
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AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; ND; NE; OH; OK; SD; TN; TX; WI
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Cuscuta indecora is closely related to C. coryli; it differs by its usually five-merous, larger flowers, uniformly densely fimbriate infrastaminal scales, and more or less translucent, globose to subglobose capsules. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Inflorescences in ropelike spirals and capsules with necklike collars provide instant recognition for Cuscuta glomerata. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 14. | FNA vol. 14. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica | Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | Choisy: Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 9: 278, plate 3, fig. 3. (1842) | Choisy: Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 9: 280, plate 4, fig. 1. (1842) | ||||||||
Web links |