Cuscuta genus
(includes Cuscata rostrata, Cuscata indecor, and Cuscata campestris)
Mark Moran
Dodder is a
parasitic
plant. This means that it lives off of other plants. In
fact, Dodder cannot live on its own. There are many different
species of Dodder, and they can be very difficult to tell
apart. Dodder also has many nicknames, including Love Vine,
Witches' Shoelaces, Hairweed, and Devilguts. Dodder is almost always
yellowish-orange and looks a lot like spaghetti. Dodder is most often seen
in marshes,
roadsides, fields,
and thickets. Copyright, Daniel
Nickrent Dodder has no leaves, and
it only has roots in the very beginning of its life.
This plant grows from
seed
and sprouts from the ground like any other plant. It
immediately reaches its stem, looking for a host
plant to latch onto. The Dodder seedling can survive for
about 10 days. If it doesn't attach to a host plant in this
time, it will die. Once the Dodder seedling
finds a host plant, it quickly twines itself around the
plant's stem. Dodder always twines in a counter-clockwise
direction. Next, Dodder will lose its connection to the
ground. It now totally depends upon its host. The way Dodder survives
is by little bumps on its stem, called "haustoria." Since
Dodder wraps so tightly around its host, the haustoria are
pressed up agains the host plant's stem. They will then
actually push their way into the stem. Through its
haustoria, Dodder can pull nutrients
that it needs to survive from the host plant. Dodder rarely
kills its host plant, although it will stunt its
growth. Since Dodder has no
chlorophyll (also what makes plants green), it cannot make
its own food like most plants.
Copyright 2001, Collin
Purrington Copyright 2001, Collin
Purrington The picture on the far
left shows a tightly wrapped Dodder stem on a host
plant. The picture on the near
left shows a cross section of a host plant stem. You can see
the Dodder's haustoria pushing their way into the host
plant.
Mark Moran
