Other pictures of this plant:

               Seedpod                                           Leaf                                            Stem                                        Seed                                          Habit

               Seedling

Facts About this Plant:

Synonyms: Grammica cephalanthi
Lifespan: Annual
Zones: N/A
Type: Forb
Bloom Time: July - September
Status: Native
Range:


Cuscuta cephalanthi, or Buttonbush Dodder, is native to almost the entire continental United States, except some Southeastern states or Colorago or Whyoming. It is an annual vine that grows in wet meadows and fields, streambanks, wet prairies and floodplains and open prairies. It blooms from mid summer into fall with bright white flowers.

This plant is often called a perennial, but it actually cannot be. All species of Cuscuta come up from seed and then quickly send out a vine which connects to a host plant and begins growing on it, as a parasite; shortly after, the roots of the seedling dry up, leaving nothing for the plant to return from in subsequent years. It continues to grow and feed off the host plant until it blooms and sets seed and begins again the next season.

Cuscuta species are notorious for being very difficult to identify. Cuscuta cephalanthi looks very similar to some other members of the genus and cannot be reliably identified until it is in flower or fruit. When in fruit, it is easy to identify by its having only three to four petals (versus most other species, that have five) and its narrow floral tubes.

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