Weeds

Cuscuta tinei Insenga - Tineo Dodder

Systematic position.

Family Cuscutaceae Dumort., genus Cuscuta L.

Synonyms.

Cuscuta australis R.Br. subsp. tinei (Insenga) Feinbrun, C. breviflora Vis, Gramica australis (R.Br.) Hatac & Chrtek subsp. tinei (Insenga) Dostal, Cuscuta australis auct.

Biological group.

Annual parasite.

Morphology and biology.

Stems thin, yellowish, 30-80 cm long. Flowers aggregated in dense capitated inflorescences; pedicels undistinguished; coronas 3.5 mm in length, pale yellow, bell-shaped. Coronal tube equal to bell. Lobes of the bell smooth along dorsum without sharply projecting keels. Corona 4-lobed, with somewhat blunt lobes; scales almost undeveloped; stamens distinctly shorter than coronal lobes. Ovary and boll with 2 styles. The styles are almost equal to each other, with capitated stigmas, with wide hole between style bases. The styles longer than ovary. The boll 3.5-4 mm in diameter, rounded, pressed from above, dehiscing incorrectly. Seeds irregularly ellipsoidal, yellowish or brownish. The seed cover thin, densely pannose. Blossoming in June - July.

Distribution.

The species has been brought from America to Western Europe first and has spread in Turkey, Greece, Balkan States, Italy, Corsica, France. In the former USSR, it is distributed in southern areas of the European part, in Ciscaucasia and western Transcaucasia. It meets very seldom in forest and forest-steppe zones.

Ecology.

The parasite sticks to shoots of weeds, wild-growing and cultural plants.

Economic significance.

The species parasitizes on alfalfa, melilot, clover, pea, bean, haricot, onion, cabbage, beet, carrot, tomato, eggplant, potato, vetch, gourds. The affected plants grow poorly, reduce yield, sometimes perish. In absence of cultural plants, the parasite develops well on such accompanying weeds as Xanthium spinosum L., Chenopodium polyspermum L., Polygonum aviculare L. It parasitizes also on wild-growing plants. The Dodder impedes harvesting. Control measures include seed cleaning and crop rotation with return of susceptible cultures in 5-8 years to a field infested with Dodder seeds.

Reference citations:

Nikitin V.V. 1983. Weeds in the flora of the USSR. Leningrad: Nauka. 454 p. (in Russian).

© Luneva N.N.