Beaked dodder

Stems orange, coarse. Inflores­cences dense, pani­culiform to glomerulate; bracts at base of clusters 1 or 2, at base of pedi­cels 0 or 1, ovate, membra­nous, margins entire, apex acute. Pedicels 0.9–2 mm. Flowers 5-merous, 4–6(–7) mm, mem­branous, not papillate; calyx yellow-brown, cupulate, 1/3–1/2 corolla tube length, divided 3/5–2/3 its length, not reticulate or shiny, lobes triangular-ovate to broadly ovate, bases overlapping, margins entire, midvein not carinate, apex obtuse; corolla white, drying creamy yellow to brownish, 3.8–5.8 mm, tube campanulate, 3–5 mm, not saccate, lobes suberect to spreading or reflexed, ovate, 1/4–1/3 corolla tube length, margins entire, apex rounded, straight; infrastaminal scales oblong to obovate, 1.5–2.8 mm, 1/2–2/3 corolla tube length, bridged at 0.5–0.7 mm, rounded, sparsely fimbriate at base, more dense in distal 1/2, fimbriae 0.3–0.9 mm; stamens exserted, shorter than to equaling corolla lobes; filaments 0.5–0.7 mm; anthers 0.6–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm; styles filiform, 1–1.5 mm, equaling ovary. Capsules broadly ovoid, 4–7 × 4–5.5 mm, with stout beak 1–1.5 mm, raised and thick­ened around relatively small interstylar aperture, not translucent, surrounded by withered corolla, indehiscent. Seeds 2–4, obcompressed to obscurely angled, ovoid to oblong, 1.7–2.5 × 1.3–1.6 mm, hilum region subterminal.

Flowering Jul–Sep. Hosts: Clematis, Collinsonia, Diervilla, Epilobium, Eupatorium, Euthamia, Hyperi­cum, Impatiens, Laportea, Parthenocissus, Rubus, Rudbeckia, Salix, Solidago, Symphoricarpos, Symphy­otrichum, Urtica, and others; forests, especially along streams; 800–2000 m; Ga., Ky., Md., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Va., W.Va.

Cuscuta rostrata is distinguished by its relatively large flowers, beaked capsules, and Appalachian range.