Dodders
What are they?
This is certainly a strange group of plants which was formerly put in its own family, the Cuscutaceae but more recently was placed with the bindweeds in Convolvulaceae. Dodders are parasitic plants that have no leaves and produce no chlorophyll, so have no green parts. They consist of tangles of reddish or yellowish stems which bear a few tiny scales along their length as well as tight bundles of small flowers. They are rootless, getting their vital sustenance from adhesive pads that are attached directly to the stems of the host species; some species are broad in their choice of host, while others can sometimes be identified by the particular host they are on.
Where are they found?
Distribution depends, at least in part, on the distribution of host species. Dodders are generally rare in our area and our two native species can be found in a handful of traditional sites on dry heath or wetland, according to species.
Identification
Stem colour helps to narrow the options when identifying dodders, but close, critical examination of the flower parts is most important, especially noting the number of corolla lobes, the shape of the stigma and the shape of tiny corolla scales found at the base of the stamens.
Common Dodder Cuscuta epithymum
Native. Found on sandy, acid heaths, where its typical hosts - heather and gorse - can be found, but now rare and surviving at a handful of traditional locations. Flowers July to September. Leafless stems reddish; flowers pale pink with a five-lobed corolla, in rounded clusters along the stringy stems.
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Greater Dodder Cuscuta europaea
Native. Parasitises a range of hosts but most often seen on stands of Common Nettle in wetland areas. Rare; now extinct in Norfolk but still persists in south Suffolk and the Cambridgeshire fens. Flowers August to September. Leafless stems reddish and orange; flowers cream with a four-lobed corolla, in elongated clusters along the stringy stems.
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Yellow Dodder Cuscuta campestris
Introduced to many parts of Europe from North America and capable of parasitising a wide range of low, herbaceous plants. A handful of records in the region but none persisting. Flowers August to September. Leafless stems yellow in colour, trailing over the ground in great tangles, like party string! flowers cream with a five-lobed corolla, in rounded clusters along the stems.
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