Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Solanales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cuscuta japonica
FAMILY
Convolvulaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Check out this Key to the Dodders of Alabama from Daniel Spaulding (Phytoneuron).
Read about Japanese Dodder from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Read about the remarkably similar Dodder Laurel from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cuscuta japonica
FAMILY
Cuscutaceae
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cuscuta japonica var. formosana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Key to the dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and adjacent states (Spaulding, 2013)
Cuscuta japonica
COMMON NAME:
Japanese Dodder
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA APHIS PPQ Archive, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org bug_1149108
Month Unknown
Look for it on Kudzu & possibly other nonnative woody plants, like Privet, per Key to the Dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and Adjacent States (Spaulding, 2013).
)
USDA APHIS PPQ Archive, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org bug_1149111
Month Unknown
Apparently eradicated in Pickens County, SC, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
Victor Cordova, City of Houston, Urban Forestry Division, Bugwood.org bug_2121072
Month Unknown
)
Barry Rice, sarracenia.com, Bugwood.org bug_5341069
Month Unknown
All Cuscuta species are leafless, annual parasitic herbs, per Key to the Dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and Adjacent States (Spaulding, 2013).
)
Julia Scher, Federal Noxious Weeds Disseminules, USDA APHIS ITP, Bugwood.org bug_5376412
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cuscuta japonica
FAMILY
Convolvulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cuscuta japonica
FAMILY
Cuscutaceae
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cuscuta japonica var. formosana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Key to the dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and adjacent states (Spaulding, 2013)
Cuscuta japonica
416
Herbaceous vine
Annual
Habitat: Disturbed areas, especially on Fabaceae (especially Pueraria) and woody plants, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: east Asia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC List of Regulated Pest Plant Species, 2017
- USDA Federal Noxious Weeds, 091820
LEAVES:
Stems twining, often yellowish-orange, leafless
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Whitish/ Creamy
Flowers are almost sessile.
Usually 5-merous
Campanulate corolla
Superior ovary
Flowers widely spaced in a spikelike inflorescence
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".