174 PARASITIC PLANTS. 



near relatives in Europe attack the Flax, Clover, 

 and Hop fields, and are much dreaded. The Dod- 

 der which infests the Hop is called in Germany 

 "Devil's thread" (Teufelszwirn) . The germina- 

 tion of our common species, Cuscuta Gronovii is 

 similar, excepting that the embryo is more coiled 

 in the seed. 



" Among the species of Cuscuta, certain Euro- 

 pean ones have obtained a specially bad reputation, 

 because they are so troublesome in agriculture. 

 The most notorious of these is Cuscuta trifolii, 

 called Clover-silk (Kleeseide), whose advent in the 

 clover fields is so displeasing to the farmer, and 

 whose destruction gives him so much trouble. 

 Another unwelcome guest is Cuscuta epilinum, 

 which winds about the stern of the Flax and hin- 

 ders it in its growth, and a third, Cuscuta Europcea 

 (Fig. 43), often destroys the Hop. The last is the 

 most widely distributed of all the species of Cus- 

 cuta, and is found from England, through Central 

 Asia, to Japan, and southward as far as Algeria. 

 It is not only parasitic on the Hop, but also on 

 the Elder and many other shrubs, and it especially 

 prefers the Nettle. 



"The seeds of this, as well as almost all the 

 species of Cuscuta, germinate on damp earth, on 



