Cuscuta californica var. californica

California dodder

Family: Convolvulaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California dodder is a native parasitic plant found in the California Floristic Province and southeastern desert regions on herbs, shrubs, and roadsides in chaparral, grassland, and yellow-pine forest at elevations generally below 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces small spheric flowers with delicate white to cream-colored perianth. Growing as a thin, stringy parasitic vine that lacks chlorophyll and winds around host plants, it attaches directly to other vegetation to extract nutrients. Its threadlike stems are yellow to orange-yellow, completely lacking typical leaf structures and instead developing specialized structures to penetrate and feed from host plant tissues. The tiny spheric seeds, typically two to four per flower cluster, allow this unique plant to spread and establish on a variety of host plants across its native range.

Habitat: On herbs, shrubs, roadsides, chaparral, grassland, yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: generally < 2500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, SNE

California counties: San Diego, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Mendocino, Tehama, Inyo, Mono, Monterey, Riverside, Tulare, Marin, San Luis Obispo, El Dorado, Placer, Orange, Ventura, Fresno, San Benito, Butte, Santa Barbara, Plumas, Glenn, Nevada, Sierra, Humboldt, San Mateo, Merced, Colusa, Contra Costa, Lassen, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Mariposa, Madera

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