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Cuscuta sp.
Orange, stringy vine that wraps around the plant and others nearby leaving a large, tangled mess all over. "The dodder resembles a pile of yellow-orange straw wrapped tightly around its host plant. It is mostly stem; the leaves are reduced to scales on the stem's surface, since they are not needed for photosynthesis while the dodder is obtaining nutrients from its host. It bears tiny white flowers which are only about 3 millimeters wide, and fruits which are even smaller." - Wikipedia
Chaparral area. This one was at Daley Ranch along the trail.
"Cuscuta californica is a parasitic vine which climbs other plants and takes nutrition directly from them via a haustorium." - Wikipedia
Spotted on Jan 20, 2012
Submitted on Jan 20, 2012
6 Comments
Hi Seema, yip that's what Wikipedia says. I guess I could have included that in the notes. I'll do that now. Thanks!
a parasite..sucking nutrients from host plant using its haustoria
I just saw that there's a lichen that closely resembles this. If you see something that looks like this spotting and isn't connected to the ground, it's probably Usnea rubicunda http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U...
Thank you Mary. I also didn't know the name until today.
Edward, it's still common in San Diego county!
nice to see it can still be found. For years I have looked every time I go to Cali but have never actually found it. Thanks for sharing.
Well done, for years I have seen this string and wondered. Wonder of a name.