Dodder on the prairie
On the Blackland Prairie in Pflugerville on April 30th I stopped in several places to photograph dodder (Cuscuta spp.), a parasitic plant that sucks the life out of other plants. Victims in the downward-looking photograph above include square-bud primroses (Calylophus berlandieri), firewheels (Gaillardia pulchella), and antelope-horns milkweed (Asclepias asperula). Here’s a much closer view from the side showing dodder attacking a square-bud primrose:
Parasites repel people, and that’s understandable, but dodder’s yellow-orange-angelhair-pasta-like tangles offer a visual complexity it’s hard for a nature photographer—at least this one—to pass up.
If you want to know more, come read an article of mine about dodder that the Native Plant Society of Texas just published.
© 2017 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
I really enjoyed your write-up for the Native Plants group. I laughed out loud at the maiden and the rooster story…the modern-day adapted one in particular. Didn’t know anything about dodder, so learned a bit in the process. ‘Tendrils’ make plants seem more sinister. They may not have legs to move, but some species have adapted quite well.
Shannon
May 24, 2017 at 6:33 AM
I remember spotting a few big tangles of dodder along I-45 between Houston and Galveston some years ago, so now that you’re aware of these plants I bet you’ll see some before long.
Yeah, that’s quite a “remedy” provided by the maiden and the rooster. I have to wonder whether the compiler of the Geoponica took it seriously or was trying to get away with something and have a little fun.
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 7:13 AM
On the article, I’m betting on the fun part. 😀
Shannon
May 24, 2017 at 7:25 AM
We have to wonder whether anyone ever tried out that remedy. Maybe somebody could get a grant to test the method’s efficacy. Grants have been given out for some pretty strange things, so why not for this?
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 7:36 AM
Haha! I’m sure my husband would sign up for that grant.
Shannon
May 24, 2017 at 10:30 AM
You can’t blame him, can you?
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 10:56 AM
The primroses are so golden and bright, this might well be titled “Mother Nature’s Sun and Dodder.”
shoreacres
May 24, 2017 at 6:42 AM
That’s a good one, made even better for many Americans by the movement of the traditional vowel in raw to that in rah. Even though I’ve been in Texas 40 years, my New York raw vowel hasn’t budged, so for me no daughter will ever be heard to dodder.
One vernacular name for Calylophus berlandieri is sundrops.
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 7:02 AM
Ooooo, I am so not liking dodder! Jenny
mycopyeditor
May 24, 2017 at 7:32 AM
The article at
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bio06Tuat03-t1-body-d1.html
reports one native and several introduced species of dodder in New Zealand. I didn’t see any dodder on my two trips to New Zealand, so perhaps these plants aren’t common there. Or maybe I wasn’t in any of the right places.
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 7:41 AM
By the way, had you ever seen any dodder when you lived in Texas?
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 7:42 AM
Lovely shots! Never heard about there before… so interesting.
frompillartoposts
May 24, 2017 at 2:46 PM
Lots of strange and interesting things live out there in nature.
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 2:54 PM
Dodder is a new one for me – perhaps it’s been underfoot or nearby, but I just looked beyond it. The Native Plant Society article was very interesting.. Thanks for the double dose of dodder!
Playamart - Zeebra Designs
May 24, 2017 at 9:17 PM
A downright delightful double dose of dodder, dear.
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 10:23 PM
Speaking of alliteration, I just noticed that two years ago I used the title D.D. for a post about dense dodder:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/d-d/
Steve Schwartzman
May 24, 2017 at 10:27 PM
Hi Steve! I love the folklore you mention in the NPSOT article. The cultural value the Old South has assigned this plant is so unique! Love vine! The dodder’s mad evolutionary skill has made many a Southern heart hopeful.
Malanie's Environmental Blog
May 25, 2017 at 6:09 AM
Hello, Melanie. Yes, there’s plenty of folklore about dodder, probably more than I’ve encountered about other plants. I like the way you worded your last sentence.
Steve Schwartzman
May 25, 2017 at 7:35 AM
[…] you heard and saw last time, on the Blackland Prairie in Pflugerville on April 30th I stopped to photograph some dodder (Cuscuta spp.). In one place a small snail had climbed up on a plant that the dodder was attacking. […]
The demise of an ant on a snail | Portraits of Wildflowers
May 26, 2017 at 4:51 AM
Yuk, a parasitic horror! And it’s not like plants can move out of its way ..
Julie@frogpondfarm
May 28, 2017 at 2:37 PM
No, they can’t. I wonder if some plants have learned to produce chemicals that repel dodder.
Steve Schwartzman
May 28, 2017 at 10:16 PM
That could well be Steve!
Julie@frogpondfarm
May 29, 2017 at 2:07 AM
Thank you Steve Schwartzman for sharing these beautiful patterns (may be only for our eyes but not for host plants) of dodder. Your post encourage me to know more about dodders. My Query is that did you ever notice dodders affecting crops and plants related to farming?
plantenthusiasts
July 24, 2017 at 5:35 AM
You make a good point about preyed-upon plants not appreciating their predators’ patterns the way we can afford to—unless we’re farmers. While I don’t have any first-hand experience with dodder and agriculture, I did some searching just now and at
http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A615/welcome.html
I found the following:
“Although there are several species of dodder distributed throughout North America, the most common species in Western United States are largeseed dodder (C. indecora) and field dodder (C. campestris). These species have become a major economic concern in alfalfa, clover, tomatoes, and potatoes. Dodder infestations reduce crop yield and increase harvesting costs. The damage of dodder to the host plant varies from moderate to severe depending on the growth of the host plant and on the number of haustoria attachments to the host plant.”
Steve Schwartzman
July 24, 2017 at 6:43 AM