Cuscuta obtusiflora var. glandulosa

Peruvian dodder

Family: Convolvulaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Peruvian dodder is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial historically found in San Bernardino, Sonoma, Butte, and Merced counties, extirpated from areas below 500 meters elevation. Flowering from July to October, this parasitic plant produces small, membranous flowers 1.8 to 2.5 millimeters long with creamy white to pale yellow coloration. Growing as a thin, thread-like parasitic vine that attaches to host plants, it develops spike-like or panicle-like clusters with 5 to 18 small flowers. Its flowers feature a distinctive bell-shaped corolla tube with rounded, fringed scales that reach the stamen bases, and ovate lobes with entire margins. The fruit is a depressed-spheric capsule 1.5 to 3 millimeters wide, typically containing four seeds.

Habitat: On herbs including

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: +- < 500 m.

Bioregions: Extirpated, formerly sporadically collected in San Bernardino Co., 1890--1898, Sonoma, Butte, Merced cos., 1940s

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