Cuscuta campestris

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Cuscuta campestris
Cuscuta campestris.jpeg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Cuscuta
Species:
C. campestris
Binomial name
Cuscuta campestris

Cuscuta campestris, with the common names field dodder, golden dodder, large-seeded alfalfa dodder, yellow dodder and prairie dodder, is a parasitic plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. It was formerly classified in the family Cuscutaceae.

Contents

It is native to central North America. It is a parasite of a wide range of herbaceous plants.

It is a pest of lucerne and other legumes. It has become a widespread weed in many countries. It is known as 'golden dodder' in Australia.

It has been confused in some recent literature with Cuscuta pentagona Engelmann, but the differences between the two species are clear. [2]

Remarkably, the seeds of the plant have been found to become dispersed by waterfowl in significant numbers. [3]

Lifestyle

Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta have little to no chlorophyll making them unable to undergo photosynthesis, a process by which plants make their own food. This makes them photosynthetically inactive. [4] Cuscuta species are thus referred to as holoparasitic plants, as they depend on their host plant for nutrients. About 10-15 species of Cuscuta, out of the known 200, are considered agricultural weeds which wrap their vines around their hosts and obtain their nutrients from them through their extensions called haustoria. This mechanism for obtaining their food makes them very difficult to remove. Their growth has been cited to cause severe loss to crops that yield alfalfa, tomatoes, carrots and cranberry crops.[ citation needed ]

The life cycle of the Cuscuta starts with seed germination. The seedlings cannot survive for long periods of time hence, they find the appropriate plant stem by recognizing plant chemo-attractants. Cuscuta campestris is known for restraining the growth of their host plants and even inhibiting their flowering. This causes[ clarification needed ] the host cell to eventually die. [5] This mechanism gives them the ability to control other populations of weeds like Mikania micrantha. [6] Another mechanism by which these dodders recognize which plants to use as hosts depends on the light that's reflected off the plant's surface. Cuscuta campestris is highly attracted to "far red light", which is a wavelength that is reflected by most plant surfaces. Dodders that were exposed to unfiltered light were able to attach to their host before their energy had been totally exhausted, but dodders that were only exposed to red light lost their way. This could be a technique by which to control C. campestris infestations if exposed to red light within the early stages of development, to avoid the spread and growth of the plant. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cuscuta</i> Genus of parasitic plants

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convolvulaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Convolvulaceae, commonly called the bindweeds or morning glories, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vines, but also include trees, shrubs and herbs. The tubers of several species are edible, the best known of which is the sweet potato.

<i>Cassytha</i> Genus of flowering plants

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parasitic plant</span> Type of plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant

A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host plant, connecting them to the host vasculature – either the xylem, phloem, or both. For example, plants like Striga or Rhinanthus connect only to the xylem, via xylem bridges (xylem-feeding). Alternately, plants like Cuscuta and some members of Orobanche connect to both the xylem and phloem of the host. This provides them with the ability to extract resources from the host. These resources can include water, nitrogen, carbon and/or sugars. Parasitic plants are classified depending on the location where the parasitic plant latches onto the host, the amount of nutrients it requires, and their photosynthetic capability. Some parasitic plants can locate their host plants by detecting volatile chemicals in the air or soil given off by host shoots or roots, respectively. About 4,500 species of parasitic plants in approximately 20 families of flowering plants are known.

<i>Cuscuta pentagona</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta pentagona, the fiveangled dodder, is a parasitic plant in the morning glory family Convolvulaceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in the United States and Canada. Unlike the closely related C. campestris, it has not become established on other continents.

<i>Alfalfa mosaic virus</i> Species of virus

Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), also known as Lucerne mosaic virus or Potato calico virus, is a worldwide distributed phytopathogen that can lead to necrosis and yellow mosaics on a large variety of plant species, including commercially important crops. It is the only Alfamovirus of the family Bromoviridae. In 1931 Weimer J.L. was the first to report AMV in alfalfa. Transmission of the virus occurs mainly by some aphids, by seeds or by pollen to the seed.

<i>Tobacco streak virus</i> Species of virus

Tobacco streak virus (TSV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Bromoviridae, in the genus Ilarvirus. It has a wide host range, with at least 200 susceptible species. TSV is generally more problematic in the tropics or warmer climates. TSV does not generally lead to epidemics, with the exception of sunflowers in India and Australia, and peanuts in India.

<i>Cuscuta californica</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Cuscuta europaea</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta europaea, the greater dodder or European dodder, is a parasitic plant native to Europe, which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae, but was formerly classified in the family Cuscutaceae. It grows on Asteraceae, Cannabaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae, Urticaceae and other herbaceous plants, including garden plants such as Coleus and Impatiens, and more occasionally on Humulus. It is a notable parasite of lucerne. In many regions, including the Nepal Eastern Himalayas, this species are used as traditional medicine to treat hepatic diseases.

<i>Cuscuta approximata</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta approximata is a species of dodder known by the common name alfalfa dodder. It is native to Eurasia and Africa, but it is also found in North America, where it is an introduced species and uncommon noxious weed. It is a parasitic vine which climbs other plants and takes nutrition directly from them via a haustorium. The dodder resembles a pile of light yellow to orange-red 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 clusters of tiny yellowish bell-shaped flowers which are only about 3 millimeters wide. The dodder reproduces by seed, with each plant capable of producing over 10,000 seeds at once. This plant is a weed of alfalfa, clover, and tomatoes, as well as other crop plants and native flora. This species is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Cuscuta epithymum.

<i>Mikania micrantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Mikania micrantha is a tropical plant in the family Asteraceae; known as bitter vine, climbing hemp vine, or American rope. It is also sometimes called mile-a-minute vine. It is known as Japani lota in Assam.

<i>Cuscuta salina</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta salina is a species of dodder known by the English name salt marsh dodder and is a native plant of western North America. The habitat includes coastal tidal wetlands in California, as well as saline habitats away from the coast, such as vernal pools and salt flats. Salt Marsh Dodder is a parasitic plant, wrapping orange-colored stems around natural wetland vegetation and absorbing nutrients of host plants via their specialized structures called haustoria.

<i>Ceanothus prostratus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus prostratus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Common names include prostrate ceanothus, pinemat, and mahala mat. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States where it grows in coniferous forests and open plateaus.

<i>Cassytha pubescens</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Cuscuta pacifica</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta pacifica is a species of dodder. Its common name is goldenthread.

<i>Cuscuta chinensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta chinensis Lam. is a stem holoparasite vine in the family Convolvulaceae. It was first described in China in 1786.

<i>Cuscuta reflexa</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta reflexa, the giant dodder or ulan ulan, is one of 100-170 species in the genus Cuscuta, belonging to the Morning Glory Family (Convolvulaceae), and is common in the Indian subcontinent and the Greater Himalayas and as far south as Malaysia and Indonesia. This parasitic plant species is a leafless twined sprawling thin vine that grows over a host plant, including large trees with garlands hanging down from the canopy as much as 10 metres (33 ft). Flowers are small, bell shaped and white in colour with yellow filaments. Fruits and seeds are produced from the flower.

<i>Cuscuta compacta</i> Species of flowering plant

Cuscuta compacta, the compact dodder, is a parasitic plant that specializes on woody plants. This species is distributed across the Eastern and Midwestern USA, Eastern Canada, and Mexico.

Alfalfa pest, pests specifically linked to alfalfa by name, may be:

References

  1. NatureServe (2024). "Cuscuta campestris". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. Costea M. (2006). "Taxonomy of the Cuscuta pentagona complex (Convolvulaceae) in North America". Sida. 22 (1): 151–175.
  3. M. Costea; S. Stefanović; M. A. García; S. De La Cruz; M. L. Casazza & A. J. Green (2016), "Waterfowl endozoochory: An overlooked long-distance dispersal mode for Cuscuta (dodder)" (PDF), American Journal of Botany, 103 (5): 837–844, doi: 10.3732/ajb.1500507 , PMID   27208362
  4. Johnson B. I.; De Moraes C. M.; Mescher M. C. (2016). "Manipulation of light spectral quality disrupts host location and attachment by parasitic plants in the genus Cuscuta". Journal of Applied Ecology. 53 (3): 794–803. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12627 .
  5. Ashton and Santana, 1976; Cooke and Black, 1987; Dawson et al., 1994 [ full citation needed ]
  6. Shen, H.; Ye, W.; Hong, L.; Cao, H.; Wang, Z. (2005), "Influence of the obligate parasite Cuscuta campestris on growth and biomass allocation of its host Mikania micrantha", Journal of Experimental Botany, 56 (415): 1277–1284, doi: 10.1093/jxb/eri128 , PMID   15767325 [ dead link ]
  7. Johnson B. I.; De Moraes C. M.; Mescher M. C. (2016). "Manipulation of light spectral quality disrupts host location and attachment by parasitic plants in the genus Cuscuta". Journal of Applied Ecology. 53 (3): 794–803. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12627 .