Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Solanales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cuscuta campestris
FAMILY
Convolvulaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Field Dodder at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cuscuta pentagona var. pentagona
FAMILY
Cuscutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cuscuta campestris
SYNONYMOUS WITH Key to the dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and adjacent states (Spaulding, 2013)
Cuscuta campestris
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 158-01-005:
Cuscuta campestris FAMILY Convolvulaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cuscuta pentagona
COMMON NAME:
Field Dodder, Prairie Dodder, Golden Dodder
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_cuar2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1680
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1689
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
Perianth surface not granular; fresh flowers not especially fleshy, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1694
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1698
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1699
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
Styles separate and distinct from the base; stigmas capitate; stylopodium absent, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm250723_1702
July Greenville County SC
Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm181028_5395
October McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Larger flowers than C. pentagona & w/o prominent angles at calyx lobe base, per Key to the Dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and Adjacent States (Spaulding, 2013).
)
JK Marlow jkm181028_5399
October McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Capsule depressed-globose, 2.5-3.5mm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm181028_5402
October McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Commonly parasitic on non-woody legumes (esp Lespedeza) also other herbs, per Key to the Dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and Adjacent States (Spaulding, 2013).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cuscuta campestris
FAMILY
Convolvulaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cuscuta pentagona var. pentagona
FAMILY
Cuscutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Cuscuta campestris
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Key to the dodders (Cuscuta, Convolvulaceae) of Alabama and adjacent states (Spaulding, 2013)
Cuscuta campestris
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 158-01-005:
Cuscuta campestris
FAMILY
Convolvulaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Cuscuta pentagona
4286
Herbaceous vine
Annual
Habitat: Roadsides, fields, open disturbed areas, especially (but not only) on herbaceous Fabaceae. Other hosts include Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Polygonaceae, Solanaceae, Uerticaceae, and Verbenaceae (Costea & Tardif 2006), per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia - the original distribution unclear (nearly cosmopolitan because o
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Stems twining, often yellowish-orange, leafless
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Whitish/ Creamy
5-merous
Campanulate corolla
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".