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big seed alfalfa dodder, collared dodder, inelegant dodder, large-seed dodder

Photo is of parent taxon

big seed alfalfa dodder, collared dodder, large-seed dodder

Stems

yellow to orange, slender to medium.

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.

Pedicels

0.5–6 mm, usually papillate.

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.

clusters loose to dense.

Calyces

1–2 mm, shorter than corolla tube, divided 1/3–1/2 length, lobes triangular-ovate, bases overlapping, apex acute.

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.

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.

2n

= 30.

Cuscuta indecora

Cuscuta indecora var. indecora

Phenology Flowering Apr–Nov.
Habitat Hosts: Acacia, Agalinis, Anulo­caulis, Artemisia, Asclepias, Baccharis, Borrichia, Cheno­podium, Clematis, Convolvulus, Eupatorium, Grindelia, Helenium, Helianthus, Heterotheca, Hypericum, Ipo­moea, Kosteletzkya, Lactuca, Lepidium, Ligustrum, Malvastrum, Medicago, Mimosa, Myrica, Parthenium, Pithecellobium, Pluchea, Polygonum, Rhynchosia, Salsola, Solidago, Suaeda, Symphyotrichum, Tecoma, Tephrosia, Vernonia, and others.
Elevation 0–1900 m. (0–6200 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
North America; Mexico; South America; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; OK; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WV; WY; SK; Mexico; South America; West Indies
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Variety bifida was noted by T. G. Yuncker (1965) to occur infrequently throughout the range of var. indecora. It is found that the infrastaminal scales of var. bifida are not truly bifid; they are spatulate with two or three, sometimes four, deeper apical incisions that create two or three, sometimes four lobes that are further fimbriate. So-called normal scales may occur in the same flower together with lobed ones. Such plants are regarded as populational variants of var. indecora. Bifid scales are characteristic of C. coryli, not C. indecora (M. Costea et al. 2006).

Variety indecora is the second most common and widespread taxon of the genus in the flora area, after Cuscuta campestris. It is a particularly troublesome weed in alfalfa and currently continues to spread through contaminated seeds worldwide.

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

Key
1. Calyces shorter than corolla tubes, divided 1/3–1/2 lengths, lobes triangular-ovate, bases overlapping.
var. indecora
1. Calyces longer than corolla tubes, divided 2/3 lengths, lobes lanceolate, bases not overlapping.
→ 2
2. Flower clusters loose; calyx lobe apices acute; hosts: herbs and woody plants, including Iva annua.
var. longisepala
2. Flower clusters dense; calyx lobe apices acute-attenuate; hosts: usually Iva annua, rarely Symphyotrichum.
var. attenuata
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica > Cuscuta indecora
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. epithymum, C. erosa, C. europaea, C. exaltata, C. glabrior, C. glomerata, C. gronovii, C. harperi, C. howelliana, 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. indecora var. attenuata, C. indecora var. longisepala
Subordinate taxa
C. indecora var. attenuata, C. indecora var. indecora, C. indecora var. longisepala
Synonyms C. indecora var. bifida, C. indecora var. neuropetala
Name authority Choisy: Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 9: 278, plate 3, fig. 3. (1842) unknown
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