The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

mountain dodder

desert dodder

Stems

yellow, slender.

light yellow to orange, slender to 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.

loose, umbelliform;

bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, membranous, margins ± entire, apex acute.

Pedicels

0–2 mm.

(0.5–)2.5–4 mm.

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.

(4 or)5-merous, (2.8–)3–4(–5) mm, membranous, receptacle and base of perianth fleshy, not papillate;

calyx golden yellow to brownish, narrowly campanulate, equaling corolla tube length, divided 2/3 its length, reticulate and shiny, lobes lanceolate, bases overlapping, margins ± entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute to acuminate;

corolla white, drying brownish yellow, 2.8–4 mm, tube campanulate, 1.3–2 mm, not saccate, lobes reflexed, ovate to oblong, equaling or longer than corolla tube length, margins entire or irregularly denticulate, apex acute, straight;

infrastaminal scales ovate to oblong, 1.3–1.8 mm, equaling corolla tube length, bridged at 0.4–0.6 mm, truncate to rounded, margins uniformly fimbriate, fimbriae 0.1–0.2 mm;

stamens included or slightly exserted, shorter than corolla lobes;

filaments (0–)0.1–0.3 mm;

anthers 0.5–0.8 × 0.3–0.4 mm;

styles uniformly filiform, 0.5–1 mm, 1/2 to equaling 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-ovoid to ovoid, 1.4–2.1 × 1.2–2 mm, not thickened to raised around inconspicuous interstylar aperture, translucent, capped by withered corolla, indehiscent.

Seeds

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

1, globose-ovoid, 0.9–1.2 × 0.8–1.08 mm, hilum region terminal, embryo base globose-enlarged.

Cuscuta suksdorfii

Cuscuta nevadensis

Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat mountain meadows. Hosts: usually Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex confertifolia, A. hymenelytra, A. polycarpa, Psorothamnus fremontii, Suaeda nigra; rarely Acamptopappus, Brassica, Dedeckera, Lycium, and Stephanomeria; salt-desert shrubland.
Elevation 1500–2600 m. (4900–8500 ft.) 400–1500 m. (1300–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cuscuta nevadensis is viviparous; its seeds germinate inside fruits enclosed by perianths and attached to the parent plant (M. Costea et al. 2005).

(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. glomerata, C. gronovii, C. harperi, C. howelliana, C. indecora, C. japonica, C. jepsonii, C. legitima, C. leptantha, C. liliputana, C. mitriformis, 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 C. veatchii var. apoda
Name authority Yuncker: Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 18: 167. (1932) I. M. Johnston: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 4, 12: 1133. (1924)
Web links