Cuscuta

This is the time of the year when “dodders” reach their maximum growth in their annual life cycle and become most obvious. The tangled masses of the string-like stems of these bizarre-looking parasitic plants bear little resemblance to most plants. They more closely resemble a colossal fishing line accident.

Dodders are parasitic plants belonging to the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. They were formerly placed in the dodder family, Cuscutaceae, with only one genus in the family, Cuscuta. I think it’s fitting that dodders belong to the Convolvulaceae family because the taxonomy for this group of plants has been convoluted.

Dodders are parasitic plants belonging to the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. They were formerly placed in the dodder family, Cuscutaceae, with only one genus in the family, Cuscuta. Depending on the reference, there are somewhere between 100 – 170 species worldwide with 13 species reportedly found in Ohio.