Tag Archives: dodder

dodder

You can see Dodder along roadsides and in areas of disturbed soil. After a hike yesterday, I noticed quite a bit of it along the road and saw that it was in bloom. Don’t let the beautiful blooms fool you, though. It’s a parasitic vine that typically kills what it takes over 🙁

cuscuta

Here’s what the vine looks like:
cuscuta

With wonderful cool temperatures (just upper 70s yesterday), I talked a friend into climbing up to Tom’s Thumb so I could check on an Arizona Queen of the Night and also see what else might be blooming this time of year. There turned out to be a great show! The most showy were the 4 O’clocks. Scarlett Four O’clock, Desert Four O’clock, Desert Wishbone and Trailing Windmills.

Click here for a slideshow of photos from yesterday.
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dodder

Strangle Weed is one of the old common names for Dodder (Cuscuta) and that describes its behavior perfectly. It is a parasite that kills whatever it takes over. It was interesting to find out that Cuscuta is a problem world wide.

Dodder (Cuscuta) strangling a Turpentine bush
Dodder (Cuscuta) strangling a Turpentine bush

For those who wondered why I stopped suddenly as we were leaving our TT climb adventure last month, below is what I saw. It was the first time I’d seen Cuscuta blooming so it was pretty exciting….to me anyway 🙂
Cuscuta blooms - so innocent looking!
Cuscuta blooms - so innocent looking!