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dodder (Cuscuta spp.)
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Article Content
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ODA rating: B
USDA Symbol: CUSCU
Oregon dodder distribution
Other common names
Beggarweed, strangle tare, scaldweed, devils guts, strangleweed, hairweed, goldthread, witches' shoelaces, hailplant, love vine, angel's hair, pull down, hell bind, and tangle gut.
Click on image below to view larger photo
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Images courtesy of Weed Science Society of America
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If images are downloaded and used from the ODA web site please be sure to credit the photographer.
Description
Annual, parasitic plant that lacks chlorophyll; flowers July to October. Stems yellowish, thread-like and twining. leaves reduced to thread-like scales. Flowers white to pink, numerous, shallow-cupped, and grow in compact clusters.
Impacts
The non-native form of dodder is a parasite on agricultural crops and drastically reduces yield. The twining stems can also hamper harvest of crops. It also is an alternate host for beet yellows, cucumber mosaic, and tobacco etch viruses. There are native species of dodder that create no economic harm.
Introduction
Dodder is widely distributed over much of Norht America with several species present in the West. The Cuscuta genus is composed of approximately 150 species, all of which are parasitic and some of which were once used as a herb. They all look very similar but differ in their geographic distribution and also in their host preferences.
Distribution in Oregon
 
Biological controls
There are no approved biological control agents available.
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