Cuscuta indecora |
Cuscuta jepsonii |
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big seed alfalfa dodder, collared dodder, inelegant dodder, large-seed dodder |
Jepson's dodder |
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Stems | yellow to orange, slender to medium. |
pale yellow, slender. |
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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. |
moderately dense, corymbiform or glomerulate; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, ovate to lanceolate, membranous, margins entire, apex acute. |
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Pedicels | 0.5–6 mm, usually papillate. |
0.5–1.5 mm, papillate. |
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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, 2–3 mm, fleshy, perianth cells convex, domelike, perianth papillate; calyx yellow-brownish, shallowly cupulate, 1/2 corolla tube length, divided 1/2 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes triangular, bases not overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute; corolla white, drying brownish, 1.8–2.8 mm, tube campanulate-globulose, 1.3–2 mm, later urceolate, not saccate, lobes erect, ovate-triangular, 1/3–1/2 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex acute, inflexed; infrastaminal scales absent; stamens included, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.2–0.3 mm; anthers 0.2–0.3 × 0.2–0.3 mm; styles subulate, 0.4–0.8 mm, much shorter 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. |
subglobose or globose to slightly depressed-globose, 2–3 × 2–3.5 mm, thickened and raised around relatively large interstylar aperture, translucent, surrounded 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. |
2–4, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, obcompressed, 0.9–1.1 × 0.8–1 mm, hilum subterminal. |
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Cuscuta indecora |
Cuscuta jepsonii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Sep. | |||||||||
Habitat | mixed forests of Pinus jeffreyi, P. ponderosa, and Pseudotsuga menziesii. | |||||||||
Elevation | 1100–1600 m. (3600–5200 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
North America; Mexico; South America; West Indies
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CA |
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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.) |
Cuscuta jepsonii belongs to sect. Californicae Yunker (M. Costea and S. Stefanović 2009) and was presumed extinct until collected again from Yosemite National Park (Mariposa County) in 2009. (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) | Yuncker: Illinois Biol. Monogr. 6: 149, plate 9, fig. 52. (1921) | ||||||||
Web links |