IDENTIFICATION
Provincial Noxious. Parasitic annual.
Parasitic dodder, as with all species of dodder, has no leaves
or green parts - it has thread-like, yellow-orange twining stems that
coil around and attach to host plants with wart-like suckers. It produces
clusters of tiny white flowers and has very few underground roots.
DAMAGE
Dodder lives by extracting food from a host plant through penetrating
suckers. It attacks many vegetables, legumes in particular, forage crops,
especially alfalfa, as well as native plants. It acts as an alternate
host for some viral diseases. The twining stems tangle in harvesting equipment.
HABITAT
Dodder appears well adapted to cultivated situations and succeeds with
many crops. Dodder is present in the Cariboo, Thompson, Okanagan, Kootenay,
Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island agricultural regions.
SPREAD
Parasitic dodder seeds can be moved with infested soil and water
runoff but are also spread when harvested and transported with crops,
such as hay, or on ornamentals.
