Name:  Dodder (Witch's Hair) - (Cuscuta spp.)

Family:  Dodder (Cuscutaceae)

Flowering Season:  August thru October

Notes: The name "witch's hair" comes from its stringy appearance.  Because it does not contain chlorophyll, it is a yellowish- orange in color.  The dodder sprouts from a seed in the soil.  If it touches a green plant within a few days, it drops its roots and forms haustoria at the contact point(s).  The haustoria invade the green plant to obtain nutrition.

 

 

Photographs by Gabi McLean
Dodder (Witch's Hair) - (Cuscuta spp.)