Cuscuta gronovii

Cuscuta gronovii is a yellow vine that grows as a parasite off other plants. It is a dicot.

Cuscuta gronovii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Cuscuta
Species:
C. gronovii
Binomial name
Cuscuta gronovii
Willd.

Description

Cuscuta gronovii belongs to the family Convolvuaceae, including the morning glories, comprising about 200 species. It is a parasitic annual vine that infects host plants in a parasitic relationship.[1] Its stems appear orange-yellow in color.[2] The vine can grow up to a length of one meter or more, entangling itself around the host plant.[3] Although it appears to be leafless, it has tiny, alternate, scale-like leaves. The vine produces white flowers with bell-shaped, five-lobed corollas, and sepals united at the base. The flowers are roughly 1/8 of an inch apart from one another.[2]

There are currently four known subspecies of Cuscuta gronovii: calyptrata, gronovii, laterifola, saururi.

Etymology

Cuscuta gronovii was named in honor of botanist Jay Fredrik Gronon. The genus Cuscuta was named after the Arabic word for "dodders", and the word dodder originates from an Old English word meaning "todder".[4]

There are four widely used common names for this species: common dodder, scaldweed, swamp dodder, and love dodder.

Distribution and ecology

The common dodder can be found in every state of the United States with the exceptions of Utah, Nevada, California, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. It can also be found in all provinces of Canada with the exceptions of British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The plant is native in all of these areas.[5]

This species has naturalized in France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Italy.[4]

This species is commonly found growing in temperate forest habitats. Because it requires an abundance of moisture, the common dodder is usually found in floodplains.[2]

Life cycle

Plants within the genus Cuscuta generally do not contain chlorophyll, nor are they photosynthetically active. This species, however, does contain a small amount of chlorophyll. It is not enough to support the plant via autotrophy alone. This is why the common dodder is dependent upon other plants to survive.[2]

The life cycle begins with germination, but seeds are unable to survive long periods of time without first associating themselves with host plants.[1] Adult plants wind themselves around their host and begin the attachment phase. Parenchymal cells begin pre-haustoria development. The next phase is referred to as the penetration phase, where the host plant is punctured through by a fully developed haustoria. This process allows for water and macromolecules to be transferred from the host to the plant. While this can be harmful for the host plant, the effects are generally not fatal.[2]

Common host plants for this species include, but are not limited to, the spotted touch-me-not, false nettle, wood nettle, square-stemmed monkeyflower, and ditch stonecrop.[2]

The plant flowers between July and October. It is pollinated by wasps.[4]

References
  1. Kaiser, Bettina; Vogg, Gerd; Fürst, Ursula B.; Albert, Markus (2015-02-04). "Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta and their interaction with susceptible and resistant host plants". Frontiers in Plant Science. 6: 45. doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00045. ISSN 1664-462X. PMC 4316696. PMID 25699071.
  2. 1953-, Homoya, Michael A. (Michael Allison) (2012). Wildflowers and ferns of Indiana forests : a field guide. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253223258. OCLC 670482476.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Kay., Yatskievych (2000). Field guide to Indiana wildflowers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253214201. OCLC 44518052.
  4. Regan, Erin. "Plant Diversity Website" (PDF).
  5. "Plants Profile for Cuscuta gronovii gronovii (scaldweed)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
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