Wildflower of the valley
Greater Dodder
Cuscuta europaea
- How easy to find
- Very rare — you need to search for it — local knowledge helps
- Flower size
- Small
- Family
- Cuscutaceae (Dodder family)
- Height
- small
- Flower colour
- red
- Flowering
- july,august,september
About Greater Dodder
Cuscuta europaea or Greater Dodder is a leafless parasite vine which has yellowish and pinkish threadlike stems. It attaches itself to some other plant like to flax, goldenrod, etc. and nourished by the plant that supports it. The flowers are waxy, small and are arranged in globular heads. Greater dodders are observed to twine on different plants species. In India it occurs in temperate Himalaya from Kashmir to Sikkim. Greater dodder can be considered an emerging threat to plants diversity of Valley of Flowers.
Where to find it
- In the middle of the valley
- In the deeper parts of the valley
What the name means
Cuscuta: medieval Latin from Arabic kushkut; europaea means "of Europe", though the plant is widespread across Eurasia.
Don't confuse it with
Cuscuta reflexa (sno 134) has thicker, more sparsely branched stems; C. europaea forms fine dense mats.
More photos
Discover the beauty of Cuscuta Europaea, a flower admired for its resilience and unique floral patterns in wild alpine meadows.
