Dodder

[Gee.S]

Has anyone encountered this parasitic vine before? Peter and I ran into it in the New River Mountains today, infesting a variety of native shrubs. We had never seen it before.

Dodder

[Agavemonger]

We have lots of this in Southern California.

I was on a hike last week, and noticed (close up) that it was particularly brilliant orange right now.(usually it is a duller orangeish yellow) I guess it is brand new growth from last week's heat spell.

A strange plant indeed...

The Monger

[Gee.S]

It didn't seem to be bothering any succulents, preferring deciduous leafy fare. I saw a pic online of a fully engulfed Acacia tree. Ouch. I'm guessing the desert environment here should go some distance toward keeping this horticultural menace in check. Do you recall when you first noticed it?

[Peterthecactusguy]

Cool you found that out Ron, I was about to look that up

[Agavemonger]

It has always been around in California. It comes and goes, with some years having more than others. Out here, for some reason, it seems to prefer Chapparal about 3-7 feet in height. I have never seen it on larger trees. Dodder never seems to get too out of control. If there is a lot of it one year, it seems to suffer a big die-back the next. Mistletoe follows the same scenario, but it seems to prefer mature Oak Trees. These two parasites are more of a botanical curiosity, rather than posing any real threat.

The Monger

[Peterthecactusguy]

Mistletoe can kill AZ trees, it slowly kills them, and can indeed be fatal.

[Gee.S]

Good info. I've discovered that there are many types of dodder, and some seem to be fairly recent invasive Asian imports.

[Gee.S]

I knew there was something familiar about this, and now I recall a fabulous PBS documentary from last year titled "What Plants Talk About". The most amazing facets of the doc involve wild tobacco, but one segment involves Dodder experiments. If you haven't seen this, you really should take the time: What Plants Talk About

[Harriet]

At least you don't have to worry about Kudzu!

[Peterthecactusguy]

that video was interesting, about the plants.

[Gee.S]

Vampire Plant Sucks Victim's Genes While Feeding

[palmofan]

Very interestly, thank you for share to us this science news!

[bigdaddyscondition]

Dodder (witches' hair) grows in the foothills of southern California, and we have it in the large canyon across the street from my house. Our variety is a brilliant orange color. Its habitat includes much of North America, with New England excluded.

[Geoff]

that stuff grows right on my property… easy to remove, though

[Gee.S]

We've been seeing it around again as well, now that cooler temps prevail.

Blooming Dodder?

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