Plants are abundant below 1,800 feet elevation on dry, gravelly or rocky soils, frequently along the shoulders of highways from Nevada throughout western Arizona and southern California to Lower California. Be on the lookout for this small but interesting and beautiful plant.
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Cuscuta indecora
Common name: DODDER Arizona and Texas deserts. (Cuscuta indecora). White. July-August. California desert. (Cuscuta denticulata). Pale yellow. July-August. Convolvulus family. Size: Vine-like, covering host plant.
Rootless, leafless, and with pale yellow to brownish stems which twine in vine-like embrace about the host, the parasitic Dodders are immediately noticeable because of their strange appearance.
Frequently the automobile traveler’s attention is arrested by a pale yellowish blotch in the green of the roadside vegetation. Examination shows this to be caused by the matted yellowish stems and the white to pale yellow, fleshy blossoms. These flowers are attractive and often abundant enough to make a showy display.
Dodder is found widespread throughout the United States and is often a serious parasitic pest on crops of economic importance. Desert species are usually found infesting Mesquite, Goldenrod, Aster, Burrobush, Seepwillow, and Arrowweed. Although certain Dodders show a preference in choosing hosts (C. denticulata common on Creosotebush), most of them grow readily upon various plants.
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