Cuscuta salina |
Cuscuta indecora |
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goldenthread, inland salt-marsh dodder, salt dodder, saltmarsh dodder |
big seed alfalfa dodder, collared dodder, inelegant dodder, large-seed dodder |
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Stems | orange-yellow, slender. |
yellow to orange, slender to medium. |
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Inflorescences | loose to dense, corymbiform; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, membranous, margins entire, apex acute. |
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. |
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Pedicels | (0.5–)1–5 mm. |
0.5–6 mm, usually papillate. |
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Flowers | 5-merous, 2.5–4.5 mm, membranous, not papillate or corolla lobes papillate; calyx yellow, cylindric to narrowly campanulate, equaling corolla tube length, divided 1/2 its length, not reticulate, ± glossy, lobes lance-ovate to lanceolate, bases not overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute to acuminate; corolla white, drying creamy white, 2.2–4 mm, tube cylindric-campanulate to obconic, 1.2–2 mm, not saccate, lobes spreading to reflexed, lance-oblong to lance-ovate, equaling corolla tube length, margins entire or irregular, apex acute to acuminate or cuspidate, sometimes appearing tridentate, straight; infrastaminal scales oblong to obovate, 1–1.7 mm, 4/5 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.2–0.4 mm, rounded, uniformly densely fimbriate, fimbriae 0.1–0.3 mm; stamens exserted at full anthesis, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.3–0.7 mm; anthers 0.3–0.7 × 0.2–0.5 mm; styles uniformly filiform, 0.4–0.9 mm, shorter than ovary. |
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. |
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Capsules | ellipsoid-ovoid, 1.6–2.5 × 1.7–2.4 mm, thickened and raised around relatively small interstylar aperture, not translucent, surrounded or capped by withered corolla, indehiscent. |
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. |
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Seeds | 1, ± obcompressed, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, 1.3–1.5 × 1.2–1.4 mm, hilum region subterminal. |
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. |
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2n | = 30. |
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Cuscuta salina |
Cuscuta indecora |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Nov. | |||||||||
Habitat | Hosts: Atriplex, Centromadia, Cressa, Frankenia, Jaumea, Plantago, Salicornia, Salsola, Suaeda, Trichostema, Wislizenia. | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora)
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North America; Mexico; South America; West Indies
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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.) |
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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 | Engelmann in W. H. Brewer et al.: Bot. California 1: 536. (1876) | Choisy: Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 9: 278, plate 3, fig. 3. (1842) | ||||||||
Web links |