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mountain dodder

rope dodder

Stems

yellow, slender.

orange, medium.

Inflorescences

loose, umbelliform;

bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels and/or flowers 0 or 1, ovate-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.

Pedicels

0–2 mm.

absent.

Flowers

4- or 5-merous, 2.8–3.3 mm, membranous, not papillate;

calyx slightly zygomorphic, creamy yellow, broadly campanulate, 1-1/3–1-1/2 corolla tube length, divided 1/2–3/5 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes ovate, bases not overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, apex long-attenuate;

corolla white, drying creamy yellow, 2.6–3 mm, tube campanulate, 1.2–1.5 mm, not saccate, lobes suberect, triangular-ovate, longer than corolla tube length, margins entire, apex lance-attenuate, straight;

infrastaminal scales relatively poorly developed, oblong, 0.6–1 mm, 1/2–3/4 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.2–0.3 mm, usually reduced to denticulate wings, rarely 2-fid with 1–3 fimbriae on each side of filament attachments, 0.1–0.2 mm;

stamens included or barely visible through corolla sinuses, shorter than corolla lobes;

filaments 0.2–0.5 mm;

anthers 0.2–0.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm;

styles terete to slightly subulate, 0.3–0.7 mm, 1/4 ovary length.

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.

Capsules

ellipsoid-ovoid, ovoid-conic, or globose to depressed-globose, 2–3.2 × 2–3.6 mm, not thickened or raised around relatively small interstylar aperture, translucent, proximal 1/2 surrounded 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.

Seeds

2–4, obcompressed, subglobose, 0.8–1.1 × 0.8–1 mm, hilum subterminal.

1 or 2, slightly obcompressed, subglobose, or ovoid, 1.4–1.7 × 1.2–1.6 mm, hilum region terminal.

2n

= 30.

Cuscuta suksdorfii

Cuscuta glomerata

Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat mountain meadows. Hosts: Ambrosia, Asclepias, Helenium, Helianthus, Liatris, Silphium, Solidago, Symphyotrichum, Vernonia, and others.
Elevation 1500–2600 m. (4900–8500 ft.) 100–1000 m. (300–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; ND; NE; OH; OK; SD; TN; TX; WI
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica Convolvulaceae > Cuscuta > subg. Grammica
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. indecora, 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. tuberculata, C. umbellata, C. umbrosa, C. warneri
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. gronovii, C. harperi, C. howelliana, C. indecora, 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
Synonyms C. salina var. acuminata, C. suksdorfii var. subpedicellata
Name authority Yuncker: Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 18: 167. (1932) Choisy: Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 9: 280, plate 4, fig. 1. (1842)
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