American dodder

Stems yellow-orange, medium. Inflorescences glomerulate or densely paniculiform; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, ovate to lanceo­late, ± fleshy, margins entire, apex acute. Pedicels 0.2–0.6 mm. Flowers 5-merous, 2.5–4.2 mm, fleshy, not papillate; calyx brownish, cylindric, equaling or slightly shorter than corolla tube length, divided 1/4 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes broadly ovate, bases overlapping, mar­gins entire, midvein not carinate, apex rounded to obtuse; corolla white, drying brown, 2–3.3 mm, tube cylindric, 1.7–2.5 mm, not saccate, lobes usually erect, sometimes spreading, ovate, 1/5–1/4 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex obtuse, ± cucullate, or straight; infrastaminal scales ovate to oblong, 1.4–2 mm, 3/4–4/5 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.6–1 mm, truncate to rounded, uniformly short-fimbriate, fimbriae 0.1–0.2 mm; stamens included, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments 0.1–0.3 mm; anthers 0.2–0.4 × 0.2–0.4 mm; styles filiform, 1.5–2.2 mm, longer than ovary. Capsules globose-ovoid to ovoid, 1.8–3 × 0.8–2 mm, not thickened or raised around relatively small interstylar aperture, not translucent, capped by withered corolla, dehiscence circumscissile. Seeds 1, subglobose to ellip­soid, 1.4–1.5 × 1–1.1 mm, hilum region terminal.

Flowering Sep–Mar. Hosts: Bursera, Celtis, Citha­rexylum, Colubrina, Coursetia, Haematoxylum, Haplo­phyton, Havardia, Janusia, Jatropha, Karwinskia, Mimosa, Prosopis, Sebastiania, Senna, Vallesia, and other herbs and woody plants; 0–40 m; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; South America.

In Florida, Cuscuta americana may attack Citrus trees.

Cuscuta americana was used by the Aztecs to produce a yellow dye called zacatlaxcalli (B. de Sahagún 1950–1982).