Cuscuta campestris Yunck.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Maleme Dam area

Photo: Bart Wursten
Along Fort Usher road, Matobo

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Synonyms:
Common names:	Dodder (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Introduced
Description:	Leafless parasitic annual twining herb, often forming dense tangled masses. Stems slender, up to 3 mm in diameter, leafless, without chlorophyll, yellowish, apricot-coloured to bright orange, attaching themselves to the host plant by means of numerous series of small haustorias. Flowers in dense clusters along the stems, c. 2-3 mm in diameter, cream-coloured. Corolla bell-shaped with triangular, pointed lobes. Fruit a depressed spherical capsule.
Notes:	All 5 species occurring in Zimbabwe are similar and may sometimes only be distinguished on minute floristic details such as the shape and size of the styles, stigmas, corolla lobes and the absence or presence of scales.
Derivation of specific name:	campestris: of the fields or plains
Habitat:	Found on a great variety of herbaceous host plants, sometimes in gardens.
Altitude range: (metres)	Above 1000 m
Flowering time:	Nov - Apr
Worldwide distribution:	Native to America but now widely naturalised in the Old World.
Zimbabwe distribution:	N,W,C,E
Growth form(s):	Climber.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Sunday 12 April 2015
Literature:	Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 18. Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 11. Gonçalves, M.L. (1987). Convolvulaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(1) Pages 131 - 132. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 36. Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 43. Pooley, E. (1998). A Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. Natal Flora Publications Trust. Durban. Pages 302 - 303. (Includes a picture). Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 54. Van Wyk, B. & Malan, S. (1988). Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Witwatersrand and Pretoria Region Struik, Cape Town Pages 54 - 55. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Cuscuta campestris:

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Flora of Botswana: Cuscuta campestris
Flora of Mozambique: Cuscuta campestris
Flora of Zambia: Cuscuta campestris

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Cuscuta campestris
African Plant Database: Cuscuta campestris
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Cuscuta campestris
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Cuscuta campestris
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Cuscuta campestris
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Cuscuta campestris
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Cuscuta campestris
JSTOR Plant Science: Cuscuta campestris
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Cuscuta campestris
Plants of the World Online: Cuscuta campestris
Tropicos: Cuscuta campestris
Wikipedia: Cuscuta campestris