Cuscuta indecora |
Cuscuta legitima |
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big seed alfalfa dodder, collared dodder, inelegant dodder, large-seed dodder |
large-flower flat-globe dodder |
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Stems | yellow to orange, slender to medium. |
yellow-orange, 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. |
dense to loose, umbelliform; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, broadly triangular-ovate, membranous, finely reticulate, slightly shiny, margins entire, apex acuminate. |
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Pedicels | 0.5–6 mm, usually papillate. |
2–10 mm. |
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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, 4–5.5(–6) mm, membranous, not papillate; calyx straw yellow, campanulate, 2.5–3.2 mm, longer than corolla tube length, divided 2/3 its length, finely reticulate, slightly shiny, lobes ovate-lanceolate, bases not overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, without multicellular protuberances, apex acuminate; corolla white, drying creamy white, 3.8–5.2(–5.6) mm, tube campanulate, 1.6–2.1 mm, not saccate, lobes reflexed, linear-lanceolate, longer than corolla tube length, margins entire, apex acuminate, straight; infrastaminal scales spatulate to obovate, 1.8–2.2 mm, equaling or slightly longer than corolla tube length, bridged at 0.2–0.4 mm, rounded, uniformly densely fimbriate, fimbriae 0.2–0.5 mm; stamens exserted, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.6–1 mm; anthers 0.5–0.7 × 0.2–0.3 mm; styles filiform, 0.9–2.5 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. |
depressed-globose, 2–3 × 1–2 mm, irregularly thickened and slightly raised around inconspicuous interstylar aperture, translucent, surrounded or capped by withered corolla, dehiscence circumscissile. |
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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, 0.9–1.2 × 0.8–0.9 mm, hilum subterminal. |
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Cuscuta indecora |
Cuscuta legitima |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Nov. | |||||||||
Habitat | Hosts: Allionia, Amaranthus, Boerhavia, Chamaesaracha, Evolvulus, Kallstroemia, Salsola, Solanum, Tidestromia, Trianthema, Tribulus. | |||||||||
Elevation | 40–1200 m. [130–3900 ft.] | |||||||||
Distribution |
North America; Mexico; South America; West Indies
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AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Tamaulipas) |
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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 legitima is a hybrid species closely allied with C. umbellata, from which it differs in larger flowers and acuminate calyx lobes. (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 | ||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | Choisy: Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 9: 278, plate 3, fig. 3. (1842) | Costea & Stefanović: Taxon 59: 1795, fig. 5A–D. (2010) | ||||||||
Web links |