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Cuscuta denticulata

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Cuscuta denticulata

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Cuscuta
Species:
C. denticulata
Binomial name
Cuscuta denticulata

Cuscuta denticulata, commonly known as desert dodder[2] or small-toothed dodder, is a thin, yellow to orange, parasitic annual vine in the morning glory family (Convulvulaceae), native to the deserts of the south-western United States and northern Mexico.[3]

Description

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Growth pattern

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It is an annual plant that grows as a very thin orange-ish parasitic vine, with clumping twinings around the host stems.[3] It parasitizes the host by sending small, short-lived rootlets (haustoria) into its tissues, from which it absorbs moisture and nutrients.[3]

Leaves and stems

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Yellow to orange stems are without hairs, with minute scale-like leaves.[3]

Inflorescence and fruit

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It blooms from May to October with tiny spikes of clusters of miniature white, 5-parted bell shaped flowers.[3] Corolla lobes are bent back, with overlapping calyx lobes.[3] Both calyx and corolla have fine teeth on their margins, hence the species name and common name.[3] Fruits are conical capsules.[3]

Habitat and range

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It grows up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert into Baja California.[3] It parasitizes plants of the creosote bush scrub and Joshua tree woodland communities, such as creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and cheesebush (Ambrosia salsola).[3]

References

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  1. ^ NatureServe (2024). "Cuscuta denticulata". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Cuscuta denticulata​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2012, 2nd ed, p. 146