Cuscuta japonica explained

Cuscuta japonica, commonly known as Japanese dodder, is a parasitic vine. It has been listed by the State of California as a noxious weed.[1] It has a range of effects on its host and has repeatedly been introduced to the United States of America.[2] C. japonica looks very similar to other vines, making it difficult to distinguish.

Effects on host

The Japanese dodder is a plant that parasitizes other plants. From mild development issues to serious complications sometimes resulting in death, the Japanese dodder can cause a wide spectrum of effects on its plant host.[3] Farmers in particular can be affected by this plant, as infection leads to less crops they are able to harvest.[4]

Morphology

Cuscuta japonica shares a similar morphology to vines, displaying stems that are mostly yellow with bits of red along it.[3] The Japanese dodder also exhibits small flowers that are "pale-yellow to cream"[5] in color and contain one circular stigma.[6] Any leaves it has are very small and "scale-like" in shape and texture.[3] Fruit produced are small and capsule-like, only carrying a couple of seeds.[7]

History

Cuscuta japonica can be found non-invasively in a variety of places on the continent of Asia. The plant was introduced and reintroduced to the United States of America multiple times starting from the 1940s under the guise of a medicinal plant, and was thought to have been eradicated a couple of times.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Noxious Weed Information Project: Japanese Dodder . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101122183903/http://www.cdfa.ca.gov//phpps/ipc/noxweedinfo/noxweedinfo_jdodder.htm . 2010-11-22 . 2021-05-18 . California Department of Food and Agriculture.
  2. Web site: Cuscuta japonica (Japanese dodder). www.cabi.org. 2020-03-02.
  3. Web site: Japanese dodder, an exotic and noxious weed found in Santa Barbara County. Dara. Surendra. 2011-09-01. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. 2020-03-01.
  4. Kaiser. Bettina. Vogg. Gerd. Fürst. Ursula B.. Albert. Markus. 2015-02-04. Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta and their interaction with susceptible and resistant host plants. Frontiers in Plant Science. 6. 45. 10.3389/fpls.2015.00045. 1664-462X. 4316696. 25699071. free.
  5. Web site: Dodder. March 2010. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160708062533/http://ipm.ucanr.edu:80/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7496.html . 2016-07-08 . 2020-03-01.
  6. Park. Inkyu. Song. Jun-Ho. Yang. Sungyu. Kim. Wook Jin. Choi. Goya. Moon. Byeong Cheol. 2019-06-03. Cuscuta Species Identification Based on the Morphology of Reproductive Organs and Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequences. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 20. 11. 2726. 10.3390/ijms20112726. 1422-0067. 6600609. 31163646. free.
  7. Web site: Japanese dodder, Cuscuta japonica Solanales: Cuscutaceae. www.invasive.org. 2020-03-02.

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