Cuscuta, commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a genus of over 201 species of yellow, orange, or red parasitic plants. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it now is accepted as belonging in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, on the basis of the work of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. The genus is found throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world, with the greatest species diversity in subtropical and tropical regions; the genus becomes rare in cool temperate climates, with only four species native to northern Europe.
Cassytha is a genus of some two dozen species of obligately parasitic vines in the family Lauraceae. Superficially, and in some aspects of their ecology, they closely resemble plants in the unrelated genus Cuscuta, the dodders. When fruit and flowers are absent in the field, the physical resemblance is so close that few people without technical training can discern the difference. In this respect and in their ecology the two genera present a spectacular example of convergent evolution. Nonetheless, Nickrent comments that "Cassytha is uneqivocally assigned to Lauraceae based on (both) morphological and molecular data." In its divergence from habits typical of the Lauraceae, Cassytha also presents examples of mosaic evolution
Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons, is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort. It is a widespread species with mauve or purple fan-shaped flowers on a slender stalk and usually grows in wet locations.
Cuscuta californica is a species of dodder known by the common names chaparral dodder and California dodder. This is an annual parasitic plant that may resemble fine strands of spaghetti or twine strewn across other species in its habitat. A mature plant of this species may fulfill all of its food and water needs from the host plant, but they rarely kill their host. It is native to western United States and Baja California in Mexico.
Viola betonicifolia, commonly known as the arrowhead violet, showy violet or mountain violet, is a small perennial of the genus Viola, which contains pansies and violets. It occurs from India and Pakistan in southern Asia throughout eastern Australia and Tasmania. It grows in shaded habitat in forests.
Parsonsia straminea, commonly known as common silkpod or monkey rope, is a woody vine of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It occurs in the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.
Cassytha melantha is a parasitic vine. Common names include coarse dodder-laurel and large dodder-laurel. The fruits are about 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) in diameter and are green, drying to black. These are edible and are harvested in the wild.
Cardiospermum halicacabum, known as the lesser balloon vine, balloon plant or love in a puff, is a climbing plant widely distributed across tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, Australia, and North America that is often found as a weed along roads and rivers.
Melaleuca thymifolia, commonly known as thyme honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is native to eastern Australia. It is often noticed in spring, with its attractive, purple flowers and is one of the most commonly cultivated melaleucas. A fragrant shrub, it usually grows to about 1.0 m (3 ft) tall, has corky bark and slender, wiry stems.
Corynocarpus rupestris, commonly known as the Glenugie karaka, is a rainforest tree found in eastern Australia. It is a rare plant with a ROTAP rating of 2VC-t. There are two sub-species; arborescens is a small hairless shrub or tree up to 13 metres tall with a stem diameter up to 40 cm (16 in), and sub-species rupestris grows only to 6 metres, with a stem diameter up to 17 cm (6.7 in).
Sambucus australasica, commonly known as yellow elderberry, native elderberry or native elder, is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves that have coarse teeth on their edges, small white flowers with three petals, and yellow fruit. It is usually found in and on the edges of rainforest.
Vincetoxicum barbatum, synonym Tylophora barbata, the bearded tylophora, is a small vine in the dogbane family. A common plant found south of Bulahdelah, New South Wales. The habitat is rainforest and moist eucalyptus forests in south eastern Australia. Not often seen in flower, but flowers are dark red, around 7 mm long on thin stalks. Broken branches produce watery or milky sap.
Marsdenia suaveolens, commonly known as the scented milk vine, is a small vine found in New South Wales, Australia. It is found in a variety of habitats in relatively high rainfall areas, from Bega to Port Macquarie. The original specimen was collected at Sydney on 11 May 1802.
Cassytha pubescens is a native Australian hemiparasitic vine species, in the Laurel family. Common names for the species include devils twine, dodder-laurel, spilled devil's twine, snotty gobble or downy dodder-laurel. It is a widespread and common species in south eastern Australia. The species was first formally described in 1810 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown in Prodromus Flora Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. Leaves are reduced to scales and photosynthesis is achieved through chlorophyll contained in the plants stems. Stems are between 0.5mm and 1.5mm in diameter and the haustoria are between 2 and 3 mm long.
Comesperma sphaerocarpum, commonly known as the broom milkwort, is an Australian plant in the milkwort family. Inconspicuous unless in flower, it grows from 10 to 30 cm high. The stems are ridged and usually leafless, and arise from the plant's woody base. The rarely seen leaves are at the base of the shoot. They are thick in texture, and measure 8 mm long by 2 mm wide. This plant first appeared in scientific literature in Plantae Preissianae in 1846, authored by the German botanist Joachim Steetz.
Cassytha filiformis or love-vine is an orangish, wiry, parasitic vine in the family Lauraceae. It is found in coastal forests of warm tropical regions worldwide including the Americas, Indomalaya, Australasia, Polynesia and tropical Africa.
Leptospermum deanei, commonly known as Deane's tea-tree, is a species of rare, slender shrub that is endemic to the northern suburbs of Sydney. It has bark peeling in long strips from the older stems, hairy young stems, narrow elliptical to lance-shaped leaves, white flowers arranged singly on short side shoots and mostly glabrous fruit.
Calotis lappulacea, commonly known as the yellow burr-daisy, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae found in many parts of mainland Australia. It is a small, perennial herb with yellow globular flower-heads.
Hardenbergia perbrevidens is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a twiner with slender stems, trifoliate leaves with narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaflets, and racemes of deep mauve to purple flowers with yellow marks.
Hypserpa laurina is a slender twining climber in the plant family Menispermaceae. It is native to New Guinea and north eastern Queensland in Australia.
