Cuscuta approximata

Alfalfa dodder, Alfalfa Dodder

Family: Convolvulaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Alfalfa dodder is a naturalized parasitic plant found in the North Coast Ranges, Great Valley, and Modoc Plateau in agricultural and disturbed habitats at elevations generally below 1,500 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces small, fleshy flowers in dense head-like clusters with creamy white to pale yellow coloration. Growing as a parasitic vine that twines around host plants, particularly legumes like alfalfa and clover, with threadlike stems that lack chlorophyll and depend entirely on host plants for nutrition. Its flowers are distinctive, with bell-shaped calyxes and corollas approximately 3 to 4.2 millimeters long, featuring widely triangular lobes and short, obtuse appendages. The fruit is a translucent, circumscissile capsule about 1.5 to 2.3 millimeters wide, containing four small seeds.

Habitat: Uncommon. Esp on Fabaceae (e.g., alfalfa, clover)

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: generally < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCoR, GV, MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.