Cuscuta australis

Cuscuta australis, commonly known as Australian dodder, is a herb in the family Convolvulaceae.[1]

Australian dodder
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Cuscuta
Species:
C. australis
Binomial name
Cuscuta australis
Occurrence data from GBIF[3]
Synonyms[4]

Cuscuta obtusiflora var. australis (R.Br.) Engelm.
Grammica australis (R.Br.) Hadac & Chrtek
Grammica scandens subsp. australis (R.Br.) Holub

The annual parasitic twining herb or climber that is associated with many hosts. It blooms between November and March producing 5-merous[5] white-cream-yellow flowers[1] in compact clusters on pedicels which are less than 2.5 millimetres (0.1 in) long.[5] The lobes are rounded-triangular and shorter than or equal in length to the corolla tube.[5] It parasitises both native and exotic plants.[5] To maximize its seed yield, it synchronizes its flowering to that of its host plant via detection of a signaling protein in the host.[6]

Distribution

Australia

In Western Australia, it is found in a small area in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia where it grows in sandy-clay soils.[1] It is also found in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland,[5] and New Guinea[7]

Elsewhere

It is found widely throughout the world and considered native to Europe, tropical Asia, Africa, Australasia and temperate Asia.[4]

Taxonomy

C. australis was first described by Robert Brown in 1810.[2][1] The type specimen, BM00016305,[8] was collected on 25 September 1802 at Broad Sound, Queensland, Australia by Robert Brown.

References
  1. "Cuscuta australis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  2. Brown, R. 1810. Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae 491
  3. GBIF.org (26 June 2018) GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.gqc46w Cuscuta australis R.Br.
  4. Govaerts, R.; et al. "Cuscuta australis". Plants of the world online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  5. Johnson, R.W. (1992). "Cuscuta australis". Plant NET New South Wales Flora online. National Herbarium of NSW, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  6. Shen, G., Liu, N., Zhang, J., Xu, Y., Baldwin, I. T., Wu, J. (2020-08-31). "Cuscuta australis (dodder) parasite eavesdrops on the host plants' FT signals to flower". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (37): 23125–23130. doi:10.1073/pnas.2009445117. PMC 7502711. PMID 32868415. S2CID 221404792.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. AVH: Cuscuta australis occurrence data (Distribution map) Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Retrieved 26 June 2018
  8. "Type of Cuscuta australis R.Br". Global Plants. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
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