390 CUSCUTACEAE (DODDER FAMILY) 



globular, 2-celled, 4-ovuled; styles distinct or rarely united; the stigmas glo- 

 bose or filiform. Embryo thread-shaped, spirally coiled, destitute of cotyle- 

 dons. 



CUSCUTA L. DODDER 



Characters of the family. Seeds large, globular or angular by mutual 

 pressure. Germinating in the soil but scarcely rooting; the root and basal 

 portion perishing as soon as the parasite has attached itself to the host. 



Corolla scales crenate; stigmas filiform; capsule circumscissile. 



Corolla surpassing the calyx . . . . . . 1. C. gracilis. 



Corolla scarcely equaling the calyx 



Corolla scales fringed; stigmas peltate-capitate; capsule indehiscent 

 Calyx of 5 distinct sepals, subtended by sepal-like bracts. 



Bracts few, appressed, entire 



Bracts many (8-15), recurved, serrulate 



2. C. Anthemi. 



3. C. cuspidata. 



4. C. paradoxa. 



Calyx gamosepalous. 



Ovary and capsule depressed-globose. 

 Corolla persistent at base of capsule. 

 Flowers sessile, in globular clusters. 



Scales large, deeply fringed 5. C. arvensis. 



Scales small and bifid, or even abortive . . . 6. C. Polygonprum. 



Flowers pediceled, in cymose panicles . ... 7. C. plattensis. 



Corolla persistent, capping the capsule . . . . 8. C. Cephalanthi. 



Ovary and capsule pointed. 



Corolla persistent, inclosing the capsule . . . . 9. C. indecora. 



Corolla persistent, capping the capsule. 



Scales obsolete or nearly so ...... 10. C. Coryli. 



Scales 2-lobed, fringed in the sinus . . . 11. C. megalocarpa. 



Corolla scales fringed, exceeding the tube; capsule circumscissile . 12. C. umbellata. 



1. Cuscuta gracilis Rydb. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 28: 501. 1902. Stems 

 filiform: flowers in dense globular clusters: calyx gamosepalous but cleft 

 to near the base, lobes ovate: corolla urceolate, less than 2 mm. high; lobes 

 ovate, widely spreading, acute, delicate, about 1 mm. long; scales ovate, 

 crenate, almost half as long as the corolla-tube: filaments subulate, about 

 twice as long as the anthers: styles distinct, equal, about as long as and 

 somewhat thicker than the red, filiform, curved stigmas: capsule about 2 mm. 

 high, acute-globose, circumscissile near the base: seeds about 1 mm. long. 

 On Compositae, Medicago, etc.; Wyoming. 



2. Cuscuta Anthemi A. Nels. Stems delicately slender-filamentous, only 

 2 or 3 dm. long: flowers sessile in capitate, few-flowered clusters about 5 mm. 

 in diameter: calyx-lobes broadly ovate, acute, united below the middle, some- 

 what imbricated, equaling or at first surpassing the corolla: corolla less than 

 2 mm. long; the lobes ovate, acute, equaling or longer than the broadly cam- 

 panulate tube; scales oval, fringed around the summit with short processes: 

 filaments aboul as long as the anthers: capsule globose, about 1 mm. in diam- 

 eter: stigmas linear, purple, as long as the distinct equal styles; stigma and 

 style together 1 mm. long: ovules 4, usually but one maturing. On Artemisia 

 gnaphalodes; Wyoming. 



3. Cuscuta cuspidata Engelm. Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 5: 224. 1845. 

 Stems slender: flowers in loose panicles, 3-5 mm. long, thin, membranous 

 when dry: sepals 5, ovate-orbicular, subtended by some similar bracts: 

 corolla-lobes shorter than the tube, cuspidate or mucronate, spreading; scales 

 narrow, about half as long as the tube, deeply and irregularly fringed: styles 

 many times longer than the ovary, at length exserted: capsule topped by the 

 withered corolla. On various coarse herbs, as Ambrosia, Iva, many Legum- 

 inosae, etc.; eastern part of our range. 



4. Cuscuta paradoxa Raf. Ann. Nat. 13. 1820. Stems coarse, orange- 

 colored, soon withering away, leaving dense flower-clusters encircling in rope- 

 like masses the stems of the host: sepals recurved-spreading, nearly equaling 

 the upwardly widening corolla-tube; the subtending bracts 8-15, serrulate- 

 tipped as are also the sepals: scales copiously long-fringed at the summit, 

 sparingly on the sides. C. glomerata Choisy. Scarcely within our range; 

 eastward, on tall herbs, as Compositae, etc. 



