Colin PurringtonNice patch of dodder (Cuscuta sp.) at the restored meadow in the Crum Woods (Swarthmore College). No flowers yet so species ID is hopeless. #swarthmore #dodder #parasite #parasitic #botany #plants #cuscuta #nature #vines #convolvulaceae #ricohgriiix
Close-up of a dodder tendril as it circumnutates around a victim. The inner surface of the coils will eventually produce haustoria, modified roots that connect with the host's phloem. Then the sucking begins. #dodder #cuscuta
CellBioNewsNature's viny vampire: Discovering what drives #parasitic #Cuscuta campestris
#dodder #CcMCA1 #sensing #ion_channels
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-nature-viny-vampire-parasitic-cuscuta.html
Nature's viny vampire: Discovering what drives parasitic Cuscuta campestris
The parasitic vine Cuscuta campestris grows by latching onto the stems and leaves of plants and inserting organs called haustorium into the host plant tissues to draw nutrients. The haustorium is formed when ion channels in the cell membrane are stimulated during coiling and induce a reaction within the cell.
Dodder bursting out of a host stem to flower. They don't usually reside inside other plants so this was worth a pic. Normally they just wrap around another plant and send in root-like haustoria to suck the juices out, like the situation you can see on the left. #cuscuta #dodder #convolvulaceae #parasitic #parasite #plants #botany #biology
Josep GestiAquests "cabells" florits són d'una planta (Cuscuta approximata) que paràsita altres plantes (les fulles verdes que apareixen a sota).
A Catalunya ha estat observada sobretot a les terres interiors i pirinenques, i de manera molt més escassa a la resta del territori. Recentment trobada a les Guilleries.
https://floraguilleries.cat/cuscuta-approximata-bab-subsp-approximata/
Fun fact for fans of parasitic vines: "in tropical herbaria more than half of the Cuscuta specimens are misidentified as Cassytha" (da Silva et al. 2021). That's just crazy. Deciding between the two options is one of the IDing activities I like to do on #iNaturalist, and a common part of the back and forth in the comments is, e.g., "But @colinpurrington, Cassytha is KNOWN to be in area because there are specimens AT THE LOCAL HERBARIUM." Now I can just leave a link to the paper below. #cuscuta #cassytha #botany #plants #nature https://www.scielo.br/j/rod/a/VbzRnhDdGVs97yZqbyX7wSq/?lang=en
I en herbassars una mica més montans encara una altra espècie paràsita del mateix gènere: Cuscuta europaea
Del mateix gènere, també hi trobem Cuscuta epithymum (cabells de farigola). En aquest cas és una espècie autòctona que parasita petits matolls com la farigola, la sajolida...
👉 https://floraguilleries.cat/cuscuta-epithymum-l-l/
Aquests dies és fàcil veure en flor Cuscuta campestris (cabells d'àngel), una planta paràsita d'origen americà. A les Guilleries es fa sobretot als herbassars fluvials, però també en rostolls i altres comunitats herbàcies obertes.
👉 https://floraguilleries.cat/cuscuta-campestris-yunck/
