Scientific Family
Cuscutaceae
Other common names
Common dodder
swamp dodder
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual or perennial
Similar species
Cuscuta glomerata
Height
Over 20 inches long
Riparian
Yes
Climbing, parasitic vine; orange, pinkish-yellow stems; dense clusters of 5-petaled flowers; seeds germinate in soil, roots eventually die as plant twines around host plant; suckers penetrate host tissue for all its nourishment; capsules 3 to 4 seeded.
Parasitic vine; slender stems, smooth to coarse, orange or pinkish-yellow; alternate scale-like leaves; white flowers in loose dense clusters; corolla tube longer than calyx; large globe-shaped ovary inside floral tube; nearly round fruit capsule.
Habitat
Man-made or disturbed habitats, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, shrublands or thickets, edges of wetlands.
Plant Community
Riparian
Montane Conifer Forest
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
0
High elevation
0
Flower Characteristics
Many, stalkless, white, small, radially symmetric, somewhat bell-shaped with 5, spreading, blunt-tipped petal lobes; arranged in relatively large (3/4 inch), dense clusters, which may be closely spaced or evenly continuous along sections of the stem.
Flower color
White
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
October
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Orange or pinkish-yellow stems; leaves alternate and reduced to small, functionless scales.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Orange or pinkish-yellow
Leaf shape
Other
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
Yes
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Small, somewhat rounded egg-shaped, taller than wide, 2 to 4-seeded, membranous capsules with a slight swollen raised area near the top at the base of the style (female flower part). The withered petal tube remains attached as a cup around the fruit base.
Fruit type
Capsule