Dodder
(Cuscuta spp.)
Cuscutaceae (Dodder Family)
▲▼ dodder on sericea lespedeza plants
▲▼ Dodder on western ironweed in Kansas
▲ flower buds of dodder
▲ close-up of stems
Dodder:
· annual, parasitic plant with twining, yellow-orange stems that attach to host plants to obtain water and nutrients—looks like yellow-orange spaghetti growing over plants
· tiny flower clusters appear along twining stems, and produce abundant, dust-like seeds
· tiny seeds germinate, but once stems make contact with a host, the roots die off and the host becomes the main food/water source for the dodder
· commonly found on alfalfa, clovers, sericea lespedeza, vegetable gardens, other herbaceous crops
· a number of different species exist, but all have similar appearance