Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Cuscuta europaea

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Kingdom
  
Family
  
Scientific name
  
Cuscuta europaea

Rank
  
Species

Order
  
Genus
  
Cuscuta

Higher classification
  
Dodder

Cuscuta europaea Greater Dodder Cuscuta europaea Flowers NatureGate

Similar
  
Dodder, Cuscuta epithymum, Senecio alpinus, Gentiana orbicularis, Campanula rhomboidalis

Cuscuta europaea greater dodder parasitic plant 4 rh 2 0


Cuscuta europaea, the greater dodder or European dodder, is a parasitic plant native to Europe, which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae, but was formerly classified in the family Cuscutaceae. It grows on Asteraceae, Cannabaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae, Urticaceae and other herbaceous plants, including garden plants such as Coleus and Impatiens. It is a notable parasite of lucerne (Medicago sativa).

Contents

Cuscuta europaea Cuscuta europaea Dodder

Description

Cuscuta europaea Cuscuta europaea greater dodder Go Botany

The long thin stems of C. europaea are yellowish or reddish. They have an inflorescence that is produced laterally along the stems, the flowers are arranged in compact glomerules with few to many flowers. The pedicels are up to 1.5 mm long. The 1.5 mm calyx is cup-shaped with 4 or 5 sepals that are triangular-ovate in shape. The 2.5-3 mm corolla is pink, with 4 or sometime 5 lobes. The corolla remains after anthesis and is often reflexed. The stamens are inserted below sinus and the filaments are longer than the anthers. The anthers are ovate-circular with very thin scales. The ovary is subglobose with 2 styles. The stigmas are divergent or curved. The 3 mm wide, rounded seed capsule, is capped by the withered corolla. Each capsule often has 4, pale brown, elliptic, seeds that are 1 mm long.

Distribution

Cuscuta europaea Greater Dodder Cuscuta europaea Flowers NatureGate

Cuscuta europaea can now be found in Japan, Kashmir; N Africa, W Asia (including Pakistan), Europe, occasionally in North and South America.

Etymology

Cuscuta europaea httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Derived from the Arabic word 'kechout', Cuscuta was the name used for this plant by Rufinus, a thirteenth-century botanist. The name europaea means 'European' or 'of Europe'.

Cuscuta europaea FileCuscuta europaea Humalanvieras IMG 0594 CJPG Wikimedia Commons

Cuscuta europaea FileCuscuta europaea Humalanvieras IMG 0600 CJPG Wikimedia Commons

References

Cuscuta europaea Wikipedia


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