bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Cuscuta australis, commonly known as Australian dodder, is a herb in the family Convolvulaceae.[1]

Australian dodder
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Convolvulaceae
Genus:	Cuscuta
Species:	C. australis
Binomial name
Cuscuta australis R.Br.[1][2]
Occurrence data from GBIF[3]
Synonyms[4]
Cuscuta obtusiflora var. australis (R.Br.) Engelm. Grammica australis (R.Br.) Hadac & Chrtek Grammica scandens subsp. australis (R.Br.) Holub

The annual parasitic twining herb or climber that is associated with many hosts. It blooms between November and March producing 5-merous[5] white-cream-yellow flowers[1] in compact clusters on pedicels which are less than 2.5 millimetres (0.1 in) long.[5] The lobes are rounded-triangular and shorter than or equal in length to the corolla tube.[5] It parasitises both native and exotic plants.[5] To maximize its seed yield, it synchronizes its flowering to that of its host plant via detection of a signaling protein in the host.[6]

Distribution

Australia

In Western Australia, it is found in a small area in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia where it grows in sandy-clay soils.[1] It is also found in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland,[5] and New Guinea[7]

Elsewhere

It is found widely throughout the world and considered native to Europe, tropical Asia, Africa, Australasia and temperate Asia.[4]

Taxonomy

C. australis was first described by Robert Brown in 1810.[2][1] The type specimen, BM00016305,[8] was collected on 25 September 1802 at Broad Sound, Queensland, Australia by Robert Brown.

References

External links

• AVH: Cuscuta australis occurrence data (Australasian distribution map)
• GBIF: Cuscuta australis (world wide distribution map)

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