Cuscuta nevadensis

Stems light yellow to orange, slender to medium. Inflores­cences loose, umbelliform; bracts at base of clusters 1, at base of pedicels 0 or 1, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, membranous, margins ± entire, apex acute. Pedicels (0.5–)2.5–4 mm. Flowers (4 or)5-merous, (2.8–)3–4(–5) mm, membranous, receptacle and base of perianth fleshy, not papillate; calyx golden yellow to brownish, narrowly campanulate, equaling corolla tube length, divided 2/3 its length, reticulate and shiny, lobes lanceolate, bases overlapping, margins ± entire, midvein not carinate, apex acute to acuminate; corolla white, drying brownish yellow, 2.8–4 mm, tube campanulate, 1.3–2 mm, not saccate, lobes reflexed, ovate to oblong, equaling or longer than corolla tube length, margins entire or irregularly denticulate, apex acute, straight; infrastaminal scales ovate to oblong, 1.3–1.8 mm, equaling corolla tube length, bridged at 0.4–0.6 mm, truncate to rounded, margins uniformly fimbriate, fimbriae 0.1–0.2 mm; stamens included or slightly exserted, shorter than corolla lobes; filaments (0–)0.1–0.3 mm; anthers 0.5–0.8 × 0.3–0.4 mm; styles uniformly filiform, 0.5–1 mm, 1/2 to equaling ovary. Cap­sules globose-ovoid to ovoid, 1.4–2.1 × 1.2–2 mm, not thickened to raised around inconspicuous inter­stylar aperture, translucent, capped by withered corolla, indehiscent. Seeds 1, globose-ovoid, 0.9–1.2 × 0.8–1.08 mm, hilum region terminal, embryo base globose-enlarged.

Phenology: Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat: Hosts: usually Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex confertifolia, A. hymenelytra, A. polycarpa, Psorothamnus fremontii, Suaeda nigra; rarely Acamptopappus, Brassica, Dedeckera, Lycium, and Stephanomeria; salt-desert shrubland.
Elevation: 400–1500 m.

Distribution

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• Legacy Map

Calif., Nev.

Discussion

Cuscuta nevadensis is viviparous; its seeds germinate inside fruits enclosed by perianths and attached to the parent plant (M. Costea et al. 2005).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.